In the plastics industry, raffia refers to flat tapes of polypropylene or HDPE that are extruded, slit and stretched to make them strong, then woven into fabric. The name comes from the natural raffia palm fibre that these tapes replaced.
Woven raffia fabric is used for cement, fertiliser, grain and sugar sacks, bulk bags (FIBCs), tarpaulins and leno bags. India is one of the world’s largest producers and users. Raffia grades need a low melt flow index and high strength, so that the tapes can be drawn without breaking. Used woven sacks are a major source of post-consumer polypropylene. Lucro recycles them into rPP raffia grades that go back into tape, woven sacks and FIBCs, a good example of closed-loop recycling.
