Sri Lanka

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Coco Fibre (Coir) (Cocos nucifera)

Coco fibre is the only seed fibre used in brush making, and it is obtained from the husk of the coconut palm in Sri Lanka. The husks are soaked, retted and crushed to extract the brush fibre; and the inner part of the nut is made into food products.

The Coco palm is very productive. The leaves are used for roofs of houses; the stems are bound together to make cheap local stiff brooms; the husk of the nuts produces brush fibre, mattress fibre and coir rope; the dust from the husk is compressed into blocks for compost; the milk is extracted from the nut; and the inner part of the nut is made into ‘Bountys’.

Coco fibre is inexpensive and has average wearing and sweeping properties and is liable to crush and distort, and is used mainly in the cheaper household and industrial brooms. Coco is mixed with other fibres such as PVC, Polypropylene, Gumati and Palmyra (Bassine) to improve its resilience, and reduce the cost of the other materials.

The Coco fibre supplied by our Company is unbleached, but waxed and double hackled.

Coco fibre is also dyed black. This dyed fibre is more popular in the UK than in other countries. Flagged Black fibre is specially treated dyed Coco fibre where the ends have been flagged or split. It sweeps better than plain Coco fibre, especially in drier dusty conditions, looks much more attractive and has a softer feel. The fibre is flagged at our factory in the UK.