Utilization of Heliconia rostrata (Lobster claw) Fibre for Developing Eco-friendly Home Textile Products

'Heliconia rostrata', an ornamental plant was treated in aqueous medium for 45 days to extract the fibre. The functional groups of the fibre were studied using FTIR spectroscopy for better understanding of their behaviour. Various physical characterizations like fibre length, fibre diameter, bundle strength, moisture content and fibre yield percentage were performed on H. rostrata fibre. The TGAanalysis proved that the H. rostrata fibre was thermally stable at a higher temperature range of 250-300°C. Due to the larger diameter and coarser nature of fibre, H. rostrata fibre could not use to develop yarns. Therefore, textile products were developed directly by inserting 4 to 5 fibres in weft direction and different count of cotton and jute yarns were used as warp yarns, thus eliminating yarn preparatory process. Total six eco-friendly home textile products were developed directly from fibres on handloom using plain weave and cost of each product was calculated.The results indicate that the price of developed eco-friendly home textiles was high as compared to products which are commercially available in the market. However, the costs can be brought down by scaling up the production. Therefore, developing eco-friendly home textile products directly from fibres will create a variety in fabric types and cater to the requirements of the present fashion world.