ABSTRACT
Seventy years ago, nearly all resources for the production of commodities and many technical products were materials derived from natural textiles. Textiles, ropes, canvas, and paper were made of local natural fibers, such as flax and hemp. Some of them are still used today. In 1908, the first composite materials were applied for the fabrication of big quantities of sheets, tubes, and pipes in electrotechnical usage (paper or cotton as reinforcement in sheets made of phenol-or melamine-formaldehyde resins). In I896, for example, airplane seats and fuel tanks were made of natural fibers with a small content of polymeric binders [I] .
