Man has three basic needs: food, shelter and clothing.

In addition to food and shelter, man has a third basic need. This is clothing.
    Modern man wears clothes for three purposes: for protection, for decoration, and for modesty. It is thought that prehistoric man wore clothing for a fourth reason, as a kind of magic. For example, he may have worn the skins of animals either to celebrate his victories over them, or perhaps to gain strength and wisdom from the animals he had killed.
    Until fairly recently it was possible to use only natural materials of various kinds for the making of clothes. Both plants and animals supply these natural materials. From plants we get cotton and linen. From animals we get such materials as wool, silk, leather and furs.
    Wool was one of the first fibers to be used for cloth, and for a long time it was the most common textile fiber in Europe. The fiber that we call wool comes mainly from sheep, but the hair of a few other animals is also used for cloth.
    Cotton has been used for over three thousand years, especially in warm countries. Cotton material was not known in Europe until much later. Material made from the cotton plant can be very soft, cool and comfortable. The finest cotton materials were very expensive at one time, and only the rich people could buy them. Two other fibers, linen and silk, have also been used extensively in the making of clothing.
    In addition to the natural materials from plants and animals, modern man now has cloth which is made synthetically. Early in the seventeenth century it was first suggested that fibers could be produced synthetically. However, it was not until 1884 that the first artificial fiber was made. Called artificial silk, the fiber was made by treating cellulose with chemicals. Scientists continued to experiment with various ways of working with cellulose and they produced many different kinds of fibers—among them, rayon.
    In the 20th century, man has learned to create completely synthetic fibers. These are made from coal, glass, petroleum, milk and wood. Nylon, Dacron and Orlon are the names of a few of these synthetic fibers. Recent synthetic products include disposable paper clothing and artificial leather.
    In many ways synthetic fibers are much better than natural fibers. It is possible to create specific fibers to be used for specific purposes. Of all the fibers now being used by man, a very large percentage is man-made.