Did you ever wonder how that gown ended up in your possession or what kind of textile material it is composed of? When did people discover that fibers from plant, animals and even insects could be fashioned into something more useful, more versatile and more glamorous cloth? The use of natural fibers in apparels may have started way back thousands of years ago but the exact date is unknown as historians realized that countries that came to explore these fibers guarded their discoveries with all their might.

Flax is generally considered to be the oldest natural textile fiber and the use of it into weaving dates back to the Egyptian dynasties where flax were woven into linen and sewn as shrouds used in burying their pharaohs. Flax is grown in temperate and sub-tropical regions such as Russia, France, Belgium, Spain, Egypt, and among others.

Cotton, which is often spun into yarn or thread, is a native to the Americas, Pakistan, Africa and India. It has been spun, woven and dyed to clothe the ancient people of India, Egypt and China. Because cotton is highly absorbent, it is generally used in making bath towels, robes, blue jeans, socks, underwear, most T-shirts, bed sheets and yarn for knitting and crochet works. In addition to garment manufacturing, cotton is also used in fishnets, coffee filters and oil from cotton seeds.

Silk are produced by insects but the most popular of it is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm. Because of its absorbency, it is used mainly during warm season and its low conductivity keeps the skin warm during winter. Silk is widely used in making lingerie, ties, blouses, formal dresses, parachutes, comforter filling, and among others.

Wool, which is largely produced in Australia followed by New Zealand, is a textile fiber obtained from the hairs of animals such as sheep, goats, camel and rabbits. Wool is primarily used in the production of blankets, horse rugs and saddles, carpets and in some heavy machineries and radio speakers. It is also used as a cloth diaper covers because of its hydrophobic characteristics that repel water and the interior of the wool is used as a covering for wet diapers because of its ability to attract water thus the outer portion remain dry. Today, wool remains the most versatile such that its quality has never been duplicated by man-made or synthetic fiber.

Although in the recent years, fibers have been synthetically-made but the quality of natural fibers have never been surmounted or equaled. Natural or artificial, the competition has brought a positive effect to the consumers as they are given an option to choose from.

The ever-increasing influence of the internet on our everyday lives can be seen in virtually everything we do. Perhaps that influence is no more palpable than in the area of e-commerce. People can purchase their insurance policies online, they can set up bank accounts, apply for credit cards and loans and book hotels, holidays, car hire and flights. They can also purchase more or less any item they might wish to buy. Online shopping has become a regular feature of many people’s lives and it undoubtedly brings with it certain advantages that are not available to the personal shopper. However, as with most things, there are also certain disadvantages. In this article we look at some of those benefits and measure them against the disadvantages in the hope that the readers will find some assistance in deciding whether online shopping is for them or not.

Benefits

Without question the greatest benefit of online shopping is that the shopper is not required to leave the comfort of his own armchair or office desk. Time, transport costs, parking costs, queues and the effort involved in transporting goods home, frequently from a store that is situated on the outskirts of town, can all be avoided by engaging in online shopping. Additionally, although some stores provide twenty four hour opening, the overwhelming majority do not, whereas twenty four hour shopping on the internet is the norm. No one can argue, therefore, that one of the greatest appeals of this type of purchasing is its ease.

A second benefit is the range of choice available to the internet shopper. Literally millions of products can be compared by the online comparison engines, resulting in the potential for a considerable cost saving per item purchased. This price benefit can be even greater by reason of the fact that the online shop does not have the running and administrative costs of a bricks and mortar enterprise. If you are looking for a particular type of product, perhaps only available from specialist stores, the range available on the internet is almost certain to be wider than you would find on a trawl of your local stores.

A third benefit of online shopping is the protection afforded by the Distance Selling Regulations, 2000, which allow the purchaser the right to cancel the agreement at no cost within a fixed period of time.

Finally, as mentioned above, online shopping allows for a real and accurate comparison between the products and prices of a myriad of retailers. To even think about trying such an in-depth comparison by personally visiting that number of stores would be entirely impracticable.

Disadvantages

One of the major disadvantages of online shopping is the necessity to have a personal computer or at least access to one and, of course, the ability to master its use sufficiently well to make use of the internet shopping market. Although members of the public who come within one or other of these categories is definitely in the minority, it remains a disadvantage of this means of shopping.

When you shop in a real market, you are able to see, feel and even try out the goods that you are buying. No such facility exists when you buy online. The most you will be able to achieve is to see a picture of the goods that you are interested in acquiring. Whilst invariably this will provide and accurate representation of the product, the fact remains that, contrary to the popular saying – the camera does occasionally lie!

There can sometimes be a significant delay in receiving your goods that have been acquired on the internet, whereas, of course, you have immediate access to those that have been purchased in a store. You also have to organise your personal schedule to be at home whenever the goods are actually delivered. Additionally, there are sometimes some quite significant delivery costs involved, which do not apply if you collect the goods yourself from a real store.

The major disadvantage is the scope for compromise of your personal financial information. Whilst this risk has clearly been reduced by the development of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to protect the integrity of your personal financial details, it remains essential that a purchaser uses great care in divulging financial information online, particularly to a site that he is not familiar with. The concern about releasing personal financial information on the internet remains the single most cited reason, anecdotally, for people avoiding online shopping, despite all its apparent benefits.

Conclusion

Without doubt, there can be real benefits in availing yourself of the many opportunities to shop online. There are clearly also real (and perceived) disadvantages. Ultimately, it is a personal matter for the consumer, whether to embrace the opportunity offered by the internet or continue with his existing personal shopping practices. There is inevitably good – and bad – to be said about both.