The New Japara Cotton

The Japara cotton is the local name for Waxed cotton in New Zealand. The Japara cotton is a natural product that has been founded in the 15^th century. Since then, the Japara has been used on different things from the shipping industry, motorcycle market, to being used as waterproof clothing. These decay and decrease its effectiveness through time because it is a natural product made from two natural products: cotton and wax.

                Back in the 15^th century where the main mode of transportation to overseas places is ships, the Japara cotton was born. Mariners found out from their numerous travels that wet sail cloth were more efficient than dry sail cloths. However, wet sail cloths are heavier than dry ones and so would weight down on the vessel therefore slowing it down. However, mariners still found a good use for their wet and heavy sail cloths. They used the remnants of old wet sail cloths and used fish oil to grease it down and then presto, they now have their first waterproof capes to keep them dry in their travels. Starting 1975, Francis Webster Ltd which is based in Arbroath perfected the technique of adding Linseed oil to sails. The result is lighter than wet sail cloths but is more efficient than dry sail cloths. This has then been used by the Royal Navy. It was only the 1920s that paraffin became the material added to cotton to make it waterproof. Three companies combined their efforts to produce a highly water resistant cloth that is paraffin-impregnated. The paraffin impregnated cloth is not only water resistant, it is also very breathable and does not become stiff in the cold nor does it become yellowish through time. Webster’s, the maker of waxed cotton, dyed it black or olive green then treated the cloth with cupro-ammonia and then it was shipped off to New Zealand where it became known as Japara cotton. As it proved to be highly successful both in sales and weather, Webster’s made it their trademark.

                The jackets made by Webster’s were very in-demand among mariners because of the protection that it offers. Because of the great success, J. Barbour & Sons adopted the use of Japara cottons for outdoor outfits. They produced jackets made from Japara cotton for use among gamekeepers and farmers. Later on, the then new company, Belstaff, developed jackets for motorcyclists. During the World War II, British armed forces used Japara cotton made waterproof jackets. The use of such jackets has risen dramatically since the 1940s and 1950s. Today, however, the use of Japara made jackets have been reduced due to the development of Nylon and OVC materials which are more waterproof, a lot lighter, more durable and most of all, a load cheaper.

                Though Japara is not that famous these days as it once was before, it is still being manufactured and used in many parts of the world especially in European countries. Its usage may have depleted because of extreme market competition, the Japara cotton has proved its usefulness and has gained a good reputation.