Wool Substitute Fibres

These sample bottles contain fibres produced to provide an alternative to wool. They were donated to the University's Textiles Archive by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), a company that derived a considerable income from its patenting of artificial fibres.

Whilst generally good at balancing the interests of industry against the interests of his science, Astbury did once upset ICI when he gave away a little too much information about one of their patents in a semi-public lecture.

On loan from ULITA. These fibre samples form part of the Ralph Marsden collection