1.   Like Barmag, which makes machines that produce and weave synthetic fibers, scores of German engineering companies put themselves through wrenching cost-reduction programs earlier this decade.

2.   Others are weaving fibers with a warp and a weft.

3.   They wove agave fiber into mats and baskets.

4.   Environmentalists say chirus are slaughtered by the thousands in China and their hides are taken to Kashmir, where the fiber is woven into shawls and scarves.

5.   Their hides are taken to Kashmir, where the fiber is woven into shawls and scarves by master weavers.