While scientists are developing wood substitutes given the acute shortage of the real thing, it is the customer's mind that needs to be cleared of the deadwood of misconceptions about using them. Coir fibre is more resistant to changing weather conditions and has better tensile strength than wood since the former contains 45.84 per cent lignin as against 39 per cent in the latter. Similarly, low cellulose content in coir (43 per cent) compared to the 63 per cent in wood makes the former more durable.