Now On!

The International Mohair Summit is happening right now - Come and check it out!

Introduction

The inaugural biennial International Mohair Summit is a not to be missed.  This is an Initiative for everyone in or related to the International Mohair Industry.

Growers, buyers, manufacturers, sellers, fashion designers and interior decorators from around the globe will converge on the epicenter of the world Mohair industry - the Karoo, Eastern Cape, South Africa, home to the world's finest Angora goats, to exchange innovations, grow new markets, explore new applications and experience first-hand the splendour of the place around which the Mohair industry revolves.

The event will be held biennially and bring sustained and growing returns to industry as the forum for the worlds industry. The demise of the International Mohair Association adds importance to the role the International Summit will play in fostering a communal vision for growth - from the diverse role-players around the globe that make the Mohair industry profitable.

Objectives

• To create a unique forum for the role-players that comprise the global Mohair industry.
• To address critical issues facing the industry and facilitate solutions.
• To foster & share innovative findings, trends, trade incentives & the promotion of global best practice with respect to breeding, rearing, processing, exporting & marketing.
• To showcase the processes, products, players & animals involved in the production of Mohair at the heart of the industry worldwide.
• To stimulate growth within the international Mohair market.
• To facilitate interaction, trade & agreements, between growers, buyers, processors, retailers, the media & fashion/home decor industry.
• Bring together designers, technology & investors to produce higher value goods & new market opportunities.
• Promote tourism to the Karoo with its many malaria free game reserves, trout lakes, breathtaking landscapes & the Mohair Route.
  
  
  

International Year of the Natural Fibre

Each year, farmers harvest around 35 million tones of natural fibres from a wide range of plants and animals – from sheep, rabbits, goats, camels and alpacas, from cotton bolls, abaca and sisal leaves and coconut husks, and from the stalks of jute, hemp, flax and ramie plants. Those fibres form fabrics, ropes and twines that have been fundamental to society since the dawn of civilization.

But over the past half century, natural fibres have been displaced in our clothing, household furnishings, industries and agriculture by man-made fibres with names like acrylic, nylon, polyester and polypropylene. The success of synthetics is due mainly to cost. Unlike natural fibres harvested by farmers, commonly used synthetic fibres are mass produced from petrochemicals to uniform strengths, lengths and colours, easily customized to specific applications.

Relentless competition from synthetics and the current global economic downturn impact the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on natural fibre production and processing. That is why the International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 aims at raising global awareness of the importance of natural fibres not only to producers and industry, but also to consumers and the environment.

The idea of a United Nations International Year dedicated to natural fibres arose in December 2004 from a meeting of FAO's Intergovernmental Groups on Hard Fibres and on Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres. In November 2005, the proposal was endorsed by a resolution of FAO's biennial Conference, which sought to focus world attention on the role that natural fibres play in contributing to food security and poverty alleviation. The resolution was transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the aim of having the UN General Assembly declare 2009 the International Year of Natural Fibres.

In December 2006, the 61st Session of the General Assembly declared the International Year and invited FAO to facilitate its observance, in collaboration with governments, regional and international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and relevant organizations of the United Nations system.

The International Year was officially launched on 22 January at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome

So, in 2009, why choose natural fibres?

• Natural fibres are a sustainable choice
• Natural fibres are a high-tech choice
• Natural fibres are a fashionable choice
• Natural fibres are a healthy choice
• Natural fibres are a responsible choice

Contact us to get involved:

International Year of Natural Fibres
Trade and Markets Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy

Web: www.naturalfibres2009.org
Fax: +39 06 57054495
E-mail: IYNF-2009@fao.org

Promotional Video

download promotional video »