Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the oldest surviving example of textile cloth?
The earliest dyed flax fibres have been found in a prehistoric cave in the Georgia and date back to 36,000.[6]
Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time: The permanent exhibit at the ATHM was Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time. It featured examples of materials that ranged from the protective clothing that firefighters and soldiers wear to the “shark skin” swimsuits of Olympic swimmers. It was a study in how textiles are changing the world.
Sewing needles have been dated to at least 50,000 years ago (Denisova Cave, Siberia) – and uniquely associated with a human species other than modern humans, i.e. H. Denisova/H. Altai. The oldest possible example is 60,000 years ago, a needlepoint (missing stem and eye) found in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Other early examples of needles dating from 41,000-15,000 years ago are found in multiple locations, e.g. Slovenia, Russia, China, Spain, and France.
African textiles were often made of animal hair and woven. 
Some of the oldest surviving African textiles were discovered at the archaeological site of Kissi in northern Burkina Faso. They are made of wool or fine animal hair in a weft-faced plain weave pattern. Some fragments have also survived from the thirteenth century Benin City in Nigeria.
"Bebali" is the name usually ascribed to a small group of textiles that appear to have been completely sacred in function. The weave is broadly spaced giving the textile a delicate gauze like quality. According to Gittinger in 1970, What is known about them comes entirely from records in the Museum fur Volkskunde Basel, however "bebali" textiles can be bought today in the Kumba Sari market in Denpasar. Hauser-Schaubilin states that there are at least nine differently patterned "bebali "cloths, each with its own name. There is, for example, cloth with a white warp and weft broken by green, yellow and red stripes known as "cenana kawi" whose function is in the 3 month ritual and also are laid out in the central shrine of an ancestral temple. "Bias membah" (running sand) has a white warp and weft in which grey and white stripes alternate. "Enkakan taluh"(smashed egg) has a vivid red-and white checked pattern. It is brought to the temple as an apparel for Brahma, the god residing in the south. Two examples of bebali cloth are firstly flat cloth, for example, "Kain cepuk", "Kain Songket", "Kain Sekordi". Secondly round cloth, where the cloth is removed from the loom and the threads not cut leaving a seamless cloth sheet., In the north and south of Bali known as "Kain Wangsu"l meaning to ‘go round’ or to ‘return’. In the east of Bali especially Klungkung and Karangasem they are called" Gedogan" or ‘circle’, the circle represents zero. Ida Ayu Ngurah Puniari (Ibu Dayu) writes that the Gedogan or Wangsul is not symmetrical, this represents purusa and predana, (male and female) where the left and right hand sides will not line up, when warping on the loom a few extra threads are added so one side is uneven.These bebali cloths are now being made with natural dyes and manufactured cottons in the traditional manner with a quality that is comparable with the earlier collected pieces of the 1920s.
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and probably originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220.
Most handcrafted textiles are produced by the sixty or so indigenous ethnic groups in Mexico, who mostly live in rural areas in the center and south of the country. In these textiles, traditional indigenous designs, and in some cases techniques still survive. One common technique in craft fabric is brocade, which allows for raised designs to be woven into the cloth. Most indigenous textiles are made at home by women and used for clothing, home use, decorative use and ceremonial use. Items include those that are hand woven, hand embroidered, knitted and more. Clothing is one of the ways that these groups distinguish themselves from each other and the world at large. Some of these garments include the huipil, the quechquemitl, tilmas, sandals and rebozos. A number of ethnic groups, such as the Nahua in central Mexico commercialize their original and traditional creations as well as produce them for domestic consumption. People in coastal areas continue to plant cotton, spin it, dye it with natural elements such as indigo.
The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. (Both fibre and fiber are used in this article.) The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns that was used widely throughout East Asia. It originated in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later on paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220 A.D.
The average American household produces 70 pounds of textile waste every year. When you compare that number to the entire country, there is roughly 10.5 million tons of textile waste being thrown away. For example, the residents of New York City discard around 193,000 tons of clothing and textiles, which equates to 6% of all the city’s garbage. In comparison, the European Union generates a total of 5.8 million tons of textiles each year. While Americans donate or recycle around 15% of their unwanted clothing, these numbers show that a large portion of textiles are ending up in landfills worldwide. As a whole, the textile industry occupies roughly 5% of all landfill space. The clothing that is discarded into landfills is often made from synthetic or inorganic materials which prevents these textiles from being able to degrade properly. Landfill waste is not the only environmental concern that the fast fashion industry creates.
The "Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex" product label, introduced (as "Oeko-Tex Standard 100") in 1992, certifies adherence to the specifications of the standard by the same name, a document of testing methods and limit values for potentially harmful chemicals. This independent testing and certification system may be applied to textile materials, intermediate products at all stages of production and ready-made textile articles. Examples of eligible items for certification are raw and dyed finished yarns, raw and dyed finished fabrics and knits, and consumer goods (all types of clothing, home and household textiles, bed linen, terry cloth items, textile toys and more).
The earliest known surviving textiles are samples of fiberwork found in Guitarrero Cave, Peru dating back to 8000 BCE. Early fiberwork by the Norte Chico civilization consisted of plant fibers that were intertwined and knotted to form baskets and other containers. Surviving examples of finely spun thread and simple cloths indicate that knowledge of spinning and weaving had already been well-established and developed in the area.
Since its founding in 1996, the CTTC has developed a unique ethnographic collection of traditional textiles from the Andes that include: examples of the traditional clothing from each of the ten communities, examples of the rudimentary textiles made before the CTTC's investigative work, exemplary textiles created after the CTTC's investigative work, pieces from the annual competition "Weaver Awards," amongst others. Pieces from the CTTC Permanent Collection of Textiles have been displayed in local and international exhibits.
The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) is the biggest union in the clothing, textile and leather industry, with more than 100 000 members. It negotiates wages for the vast majority of workers in the clothing, textile and leather industry in South Africa, and the agreements cover over 150 000 workers.
The first actual textile, as opposed to skins sewn together, was probably felt. Surviving examples of Nålebinding, another early textile method, date from 6500 BC. Our knowledge of ancient textiles and clothing has expanded in the recent past thanks to modern technological developments.[7] Our knowledge of cultures varies greatly with the climatic conditions to which archeological deposits are exposed; the Middle East and the arid fringes of China have provided many very early samples in good condition, but the early development of textiles in the Indian subcontinent, sub-Saharan Africa and other moist parts of the world remains unclear. In northern Eurasia, peat bogs can also preserve textiles very well. The first known textile of South America was discovered in Guitarrero Cave in Peru, it was woven out of vegetable fibers and dates back to 8,000 B.C.E.
Some of the oldest surviving African textiles were discovered at the archaeological site of Kissi in northern Burkina Faso. They are made of wool or fine animal hair in a weft-faced plain weave pattern. Fragments of textile have also survived from the thirteenth century Benin City in Nigeria.
Companhia Hering (Cia Hering) is a Brazilian textile and retail clothing company, being the leading clothing textile company in Latin America. The company has 805 stores. The company is one of the oldest Brazilian companies still in activity, founded by German brothers Bruno and Hermann Hering, in 1880. It was founded in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, and its headquarters and major factories are still in this city. Hering is the major employer in the city (excluding public service jobs).
, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – History of the Textile Industry at the Wayback Machine(archived 27 October 2009) – Why have a Museum of Clothing and Textiles? – from Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 8, No. 3, 14–18 (1990) Clothing and Fashion
What colourants have been used, and how will they react to cleaning? This can apply not only to dyes but to mordants as well. Different parts of the world may have different dye processes, so here is where knowledge of when and where a textile originated, as well as a working knowledge of chemistry, can come in handy. If in doubt as to the wash ability of a dye, apply a drop or two of water to an inconspicuous place and blot with a clean white cloth. If the dye transfers to the cloth, even in small amounts, the textile should not be washed.
Are there finishes or surface treatments that must be preserved? For example, is the fabric painted? If so, it should never be washed; some other cleaning method should be used.
Electronic textiles, also known as smart garments, smart clothing, smart textiles, or smart fabrics, are fabrics that enable digital components such as a battery and a light (including small computers), and electronics to be embedded in them. Smart textiles are fabrics that have been developed with new technologies that provide added value to the wearer. Pailes-Friedman of the Pratt Institute states that "what makes smart fabrics revolutionary is that they have the ability to do many things that traditional fabrics cannot, including communicate, transform, conduct energy and even grow".
Smart textiles can be broken into two different categories: aesthetic and performance enhancing. Aesthetic examples include fabrics that light up and fabrics that can change colour. Some of these fabrics gather energy from the environment by harnessing vibrations, sound or heat, reacting to these inputs. The colour changing and lighting scheme can also work by embedding the fabric with electronics that can power it. Performance enhancing smart textiles are intended for use in athletic, extreme sports and military applications. These include fabrics designed to regulate body temperature, reduce wind resistance, and control muscle vibration – all of which may improve athletic performance. Other fabrics have been developed for protective clothing, to guard against extreme environmental hazards, such as radiation and the effects of space travel. The health and beauty industry is also taking advantage of these innovations, which range from drug-releasing medical textiles, to fabric with moisturizer, perfume, and anti-aging properties. Many smart clothing, wearable technology, and wearable computing projects involve the use of e-textiles.
The study of the history of clothing and textiles traces the development, use, and availability of clothing and textiles over human history. Clothing and textiles reflect the materials and technologies available in different civilizations at different times. The variety and distribution of clothing and textiles within a society reveal social customs and culture.
In naturist parlance, "textile" or "textilist" is a non-naturist person, non-naturist behaviour or non-naturist facilities. e.g. "the textile beach starts at the flag", "they are a mixed couple – he is naturist, she is textile". "Textile" is the predominant term used in the UK ('textilist' is unknown in British naturist magazines including "H&E naturist"), although some naturists avoid it due to perceived negative or derogatory connotations. "Textilist" is said to be used interchangeably, but no dictionary definition to this effect exists, nor are there any equivalent examples of use in mainstream literature such as those for "textile". "Clothing optional" and "nude optional" (US specific) describe a policy or a venue that allows or encourages nudity but tolerates the wearing of clothes. The opposite is "clothing compulsory"; that is, prohibiting nudity. Adjectival phrases "clothes free" and "clothing free" prescribe where naturism is permitted in an otherwise textile environment, or define the preferred state of a naturist.
A wide variety of portable objects from various decorative arts were imported from the Islamic world into Europe during the Middle Ages, mostly through Italy, and above all Venice. In many areas European-made goods could not match the quality of Islamic or Byzantine work until near the end of the Middle Ages. Luxury textiles were widely used for clothing and hangings and also, fortunately for art history, also often as shrouds for the burials of important figures, which is how most surviving examples were preserved. In this area Byzantine silk was influenced by Sassanian textiles, and Islamic silk by both, so that is hard to say which culture's textiles had the greatest influence on the Cloth of St Gereon, a large tapestry which is the earliest and most important European imitation of Eastern work. European, especially Italian, cloth gradually caught up with the quality of Eastern imports, and adopted many elements of their designs.
Textile manufacturing is one of the oldest human activities. The oldest known textiles date back to about 5000 B.C. In order to make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving to create cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. Cloth is finished by what are described as wet processes to become fabric. The fabric may be dyed, printed or decorated by embroidering with coloured yarns.
In traditional Hmong villages in Asia, women exerted cultural agency through their production of elaborate clothing. The profound relevance of textiles as infrastructure in the Hmong social fabric is not strictly historical, as diasporic and Hmong women in Asia claim space for textile production. A young woman’s industriousness and textile skills were among the most highly regarded attributes of a partner when a young man was searching for his future wife. The cultural dynamic “story cloths” inhabit is more than what first meets the eye. The cloths are included in many different aspects of Hmong culture and life. “Story cloths” could potentially even determine a woman’s fertility. A woman’s inventiveness in textile pattern design was also reported to be an indicator of her future fertility in childbirth.