polymers Review A Comprehensive Review on Natural Fibers: Technological and Socio-Economical Aspects Azizatul Karimah 1 , Muhammad Rasyidur Ridho 1 , Sasa Sofyan Munawar 1 , Ismadi 1 , Yusup Amin 1 , Ratih Damayanti 2 , Muhammad Adly Rahandi Lubis 1 , Asri Peni Wulandari 3 , Nurindah 4 , Apri Heri Iswanto 5,6, * , Ahmad Fudholi 7,8 , Mochamad Asroﬁ 9,10 , Euis Saedah 11 , Nasmi Herlina Sari 12 , Bayu Rizky Pratama 13 , Widya Fatriasari 1, *, Deded Sarip Nawawi 14, *, Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa 15, * and Suchart Siengchin 15   Citation: Karimah, A.; Ridho, M.R.; Munawar, S.S.; Ismadi; Amin, Y.; Damayanti, R.; Lubis, M.A.R.; Wulandari, A.P.; Nurindah; Iswanto, A.H.; et al. A Comprehensive Review on Natural Fibers: Technological and Socio-Economical Aspects. Polymers 2021, 13, 4280. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/polym13244280 Academic Editors: Clara Delgado-Sánchez, Concepción Valencia-Barragán, Esperanza Cortés Triviño, Adrián Tenorio-Alfonso and Antonio M. Borrero-López Received: 5 November 2021 Accepted: 30 November 2021 Published: 7 December 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional afﬁl- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Research Center for Biomaterials, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl Raya Bogor KM 46, Cibinong 16911, Indonesia; karimahazizatul@gmail.com (A.K.); rasyidmuhammad0505@gmail.com (M.R.R.); sasa001@brin.go.id (S.S.M.); isma011@brin.go.id (I.); yusu007@brin.go.id (Y.A.); muha142@brin.go.id (M.A.R.L.) 2 Forest Products Research and Development Center, Ministryof Environment and Forestry, Bogor 16610, Indonesia; ratih_turmuzi@yahoo.com 3 Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, University of Padjajaran, Jatinangor 45363, Indonesia; asri.peni@unpad.ac.id 4 Indonesian Sweetener and Fiber Crops Research Institute (ISFCRI), Ministry of Agriculture, Malang 65152, Indonesia; nurarindatta@gmail.com 5 Department of Forest Product, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, Indonesia 6 JATI-Sumatran Forestry Analysis Study Center, Jl. Tridarma Ujung No. 1, Kampus USU, Medan 20155, Indonesia 7 Solar Energy Research Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia; a.fudholi@ukm.edu.my 8 Research Centre for Electrical Power and Mechatronics, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Kawasan LIPI Cisitu, Bandung 40135, Indonesia 9 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kampus Tegalboto, University of Jember, Jember 68121, Indonesia; asroﬁ.net@gmail.com 10 Center for Development of Advanced Science and Technology (CDAST), Advanced Materials Research Group, Kampus Tegalboto, University of Jember, Jember 68121, Indonesia 11 Indonesia Natural Fiber Council (DSI), Gedung Smesco/SME Tower Lt. G (APINDO UMKM Hub), Jl Gatot Subroto Kav. 94 Pancoran, Jakarta Selatan 12780, Indonesia; euis@inaﬁber.id 12 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mataram, Mataram 001016, Indonesia; n.herlinasari@unram.ac.id 13 The Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10903, Thailand; bayu_rizkypratama@yahoo.com 14 Department of Forest Products, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia 15 Natural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800, Thailand; suchart.s.pe@tggs-bangkok.org * Correspondence: apri@usu.ac.id (A.H.I.); widya.fatriasari@lipi.go.id or widy003@brin.go.id (W.F.); dsnawawi@apps.ipb.ac.id (D.S.N.); mcemrs@gmail.com (S.M.R.) Abstract: Asian countries have abundant resources of natural ﬁbers, but unfortunately, they have not been optimally utilized. The facts showed that from 2014 to 2020, there was a shortfall in meeting national demand of over USD 2.75 million per year. Therefore, in order to develop the utilization and improve the economic potential as well as the sustainability of natural ﬁbers, a comprehensive review is required. The study aimed to demonstrate the availability, technological processing, and socio-economical aspects of natural ﬁbers. Although many studies have been conducted on this material, it is necessary to revisit their potential from those perspectives to maximize their use. The renewability and biodegradability of natural ﬁber are part of the fascinating properties that lead to their prospective use in automotive, aerospace industries, structural and building constructions, bio packaging, textiles, biomedical applications, and military vehicles. To increase the range of applications, relevant technologies in conjunction with social approaches are very important. Hence, in the future, the utilization can be expanded in many ﬁelds by considering the basic characteristics Polymers 2021, 13, 4280. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13244280 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers