European flax and hemp: two fibers with a promising future

The European Flax and Hemp Alliance is setting the bar high. Its ambition "is to contribute positively to the environmental transition and to make European flax and hemp the preferred sustainable premium fibers worldwide" explains Chantal Malingrey, Marketing and Communications Director.

Remind that three quarters of the world's flax fiber production takes place in Belgium, the Netherlands and, above all, France. In 2023, of the 150,000 hectares of flax grown in Europe, 87% was grown in France!

The Ex-CELC (Confédération Européenne du Lin et du Chanvre), renamed Alliance du Lin et du Chanvre Européens in 2022, claims to be the "only agro-industrial organization to bring together all players in the flax and hemp value chain, from producers (farmers, scutchers) to traders, including spinners and weavers". This represents 10,000 companies in 16 countries. The organization also explains that it "dialogues with brands and supports them so that they take hold of European linen" and claims to be the "guarantor of all technical, scientific and environmental data" on these two fibers.

With both a marketing and scientific approach, the European Flax and Hemp Alliance thus pursues the objective of "seducing and convincing through proof".

Two certifications with the wind in their sails

Credit photos :©Alliance Flax Linen Hemp">

Dedicated to defending "an ecosystem and its savoir-faire", in recent years the Alliance has deployed two certifications for linen, "an important key to being referenced by brands".

European Flax™, born in 2013, certifies the traceability of premium flax fiber grown in Western Europe (i.e., in a coastal strip stretching from Caen to Amsterdam) for all its outlets.

The second linen certification, Masters of Linen™, launched in 1993, guarantees the traceability of linen processed by European companies on European and Euromed 1 sites. A textile of excellence, local at every stage: from the European Flax™ plant fiber, through the thread, to the fabric.

Let's highlight the existence of two spinning methods specific to linen: "wet" and "dry". The former, generally involving long fibers, produces fine threads ideal for fashion and household linen.

The "dry" method, which uses short fibers, requires little or no water. Its thicker threads are used mainly for furnishings.

Finally, it is possible to process linen in blends in wool and cotton mills (for denim, for example).

Proof of the current interest in linen, its two certifications deployed by the Alliance are on a roll. Between January 2020 and December 2023, the number of European Flax™ certifications exploded (+1000%) to over 1100 certified companies in 35 countries at all levels of processing, those of Masters of Linen™ growing by +39% to 38 companies (spinners, weavers, knitters).

Chantal Malingrey sees three reasons for this: a CSR impulse, responding to a climate emergency, a societal expectation and the forthcoming entry into force of new regulations including eco-design.

Multiple advantages

Crédit photos :©Alliance Flax Linen Hemp">

"The properties and assets of flax today resonate with the environmental aspirations of consumers, brands and distributors," she stresses. At the same time, brands are asserting sustainable development strategies and reviewing their sourcing in favor of low-impact materials."

In addition to its local origin and certified traceability, European linen thus has an enviable environmental profile, born of virtuous agricultural practices: rotational cultivation, which contributes to optimal soil quality, low input, GMO-free and irrigation-free (barring exceptional circumstances). The fiber is also extracted 100% mechanically, with zero waste.

Flax has no shortage of assets on the use side either: comfort and thermal regulation, versatility of applications.

"The Alliance is committed to demonstrating the functional properties of European flax, with scientific studies to back it up. Starting with comfort performance, tested by the Cetelor laboratory according to a precise protocol applied to fibers worn next to the skin (linen, cotton, viscose, polyester)," explains Marie Demaegdt, Textile & CSR Director at the Alliance.

Banco: linen took two gold medals, the first in terms of ventilation (air flow through the fabric) and breathability (water vapor flow through the fabric), standing out for its ability to cool, for example, during moderate sports practice, and the second in terms of moisture absorption and regulation.

In terms of its ability to retain heat, linen achieved an intermediate result, "guaranteeing gentle warmth without excess". A quality which, combined with its breathability, translates into good thermoregulation.

To officially test its durability, observed empirically, for example through the transmission of linen trousseaux from generation to generation, the Alliance has also joined the ongoing DURHABI project. Led by IFTH (Institut Français du Textile et de l'Habillement), this project aims to standardize the assessment of the physical durability of textile products.

"This project on durability is a good example of the co-construction approach that drives the Alliance, as is the collaborative work on the environmental footprint at European level and with impact databases," emphasizes Marie Demaegdt.

Inspiring threads

Crédit photos :©Alliance Flax Linen Hemp">

The Alliance's CSR & Textile Director also points to linen's great versatility. In fashion, "it's often imagined as basic, limited to shirts or summer dresses, with neutral colors and a tendency to wrinkle. But European linen can be much more than that, with creative and innovative developments in both warp and weft (tailoring, urban yet comfortable clothing, etc.) and knits (tee shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, etc.). Linen's lack of suppleness can also be improved by twisting the threads or washing them. Since its introduction some fifteen years ago, washed linen has been a great success "in the Home and in ready-to-wear thanks to its nicely wrinkled side and the advantage of not having to be ironed".

Linen's natural irregularities and roughness also give it a "cachet that you don't get with synthetics". But this requires "special savoir-faire on the part of the spinners to reveal what is desirable, distinguishing it from what constitutes a defect".

Marie Demaegdt is convinced. An "inspiring" fiber, linen has "a promising future". "According to a study, it is gradually becoming an increasingly popular material, particularly within the premium market, where linen accounts for up to 10% of the offer at certain brands and up to 5% for luxury Home".

Today, 60% of linen outlets are found in Fashion, 30% in Decoration-Art of living, but also 10% in technical uses (Building, Automotive, Aeronautics, Sports and Leisure, Horticulture...).

For its part, hemp, which has always been associated with technical uses (such as rope-making), is also gaining ground in multiple fields (insulation, bio-sourced materials, etc). In 2022, 55,000 hectares of hemp were cultivated in Europe, including 21,700 in France.

New textile outlets are emerging, even if European supply is still very limited in this market dominated by China. To meet these challenges, the Alliance is now including in its scope the structuring of a hemp fiber textile sector.

Today, Europe masters the savoir-faire of cotton hemp, a shortened and refined fiber designed to be spun into a cotton blend, which is of particular interest to denim players.

The production of long-fibre hemp remains a challenge, in a context of reinvention of the industry and in complementarity with flax. The European Union is actively supporting this reconstruction, as demonstrated by the Hemp4circularity project, launched in 2023 and bringing together various players, including the European Flax and Hemp Alliance, which represents its members alongside 11 other partners.

Flax and hemp have not finished surprising us!

For more information: https://allianceflaxlinenhemp.eu/fr