Vegetable fibers, also commonly called Plant fibers, are the ones extracted from plants. The main chemical component of plant fibers is cellulose, meaning most of these fibers are cellulose fibers. Plant fibers are widely used in the textile industry, but can also be used for other applications, such as in the manufacturing of paper, for instance.
Within the family of plant fibers, you can sub-classify by source:
Seed fibers, such as cotton or kapok, come from the seed of the plant, usually turned into fiber through a mechanical process. Cotton is undoubtedly the most used natural fiber across the global textile industry, and our raw material at Recover, where we turn textile waste into fiber. Bast fibers come from the bast or the skin of the plant. Within this family, some of the most common fibers are jute, which is extracted from the Corchorus plant, flax (also called linseed) which is extracted from the Linum plant, hemp from the cannabis plant or banana, one of the strongest natural fibers in the market. Leaf fibers come from the leaves of trees, the most common ones are sisal, pineapple or abaca.
Some vegetable fibers also come from fruits (coconut, oil palm, etc) or from stalk (wood, bamboo, etc.)