After being displaced from the fashion scene in recent years by newer (more polluting) materials, linen appears to be making a comeback. This age-old plant-based fibre is proving a hit with businesses and customers alike, whether in Europe, the United States, or Asia. The fabric is admired as much for its comfort and style as for its low environmental impact.
Linen has made a triumphant return to closets in recent seasons, long linked with house textiles and beachwear. Brands are using Plant-based fibre to lessen their environmental effect while also satisfying changing consumer demands. Indeed, linen is primarily farmed in Western Europe and requires little water, fertiliser, or pesticides, all while producing no waste. Consumers appear to regard linen as one of the future fabrics, whether for its aesthetic value or its numerous environmental benefits.
Given the current worries of consumers all around the world, linen’s popularity is unsurprising.
Linen is now the second most popular fabric among French and Chinese consumers in the ready-to-wear industry, trailing only cotton. In China, one out of every five people considers linen their favourite fabric, compared to one out of every 10 in India, where silk has long been the preferred fabric. Overall, it appears that linen clothing will be fashionable in 2021.
A comfortable and eco-friendly fabric
So, why are customers gravitating toward linen? While the fabric’s environmental benefits are frequently highlighted, they aren’t the only features of the material. Lightness and comfort, for example, are the most critical factors indicated by French respondents as reasons for purchasing. In Italy and China, the fabric’s freshness or coolness is highly significant, but style is paramount in India and the United Kingdom.
It’s also interesting to note that customer perceptions of linen vary significantly by country. The material is most commonly associated with a shirt or a summer dress in Europe and India, while it is generally associated with a jacket in China. Meanwhile, one out of five Indian buyers links the cloth with the kurta, a traditional Indian garment.
5 Reasons Why the Future Needs Linen
1. FLAX IS FRIENDLY
Linen is derived from flax, which is one of the world’s most environmentally friendly fibres. Flax is grown in the Western European environment with almost no water input other than rain. This means that linen clothing uses just under a fifth of the water that a cotton garment does over its lifetime. Flax also has few natural enemies, obviating the need for insecticides. Linen is an excellent example of an environmentally friendly product with a circular shape.
2. ZERO WASTE
Flax leaves no waste even after the retting process. “Scutching tows,” a byproduct of the facility, are ideal for coarser yarns and as a raw material for paper. The “shives” are a byproduct that is used to make chipboards and animal bedding. Linseed Oil, another frequent flax byproduct, is excellent for wood preservation, especially in varnishes. The trash shearing their fabrics is instantly collected at the Libeco Belgian linen mill and converted into the insulation. Nothing is thrown away. Libeco has been awarded a Cradle to Cradle certificate for its closed production cycle and circular design.
3. FLAX CRAVES CARBON DIOXIDE
Flax produces no waste, but it also absorbs a significant amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Because CO2 is the most prevalent greenhouse gas, capturing it is essential for slowing global warming.
We believe in slow fashion and the circular economy at Daks. Thus 100 per cent pure linen is an excellent choice for reducing carbon emissions.
4. CARBON NEUTRAL MILL
Linen is a carbon-negative product when the carbon-hungry qualities of flax are combined with Daks’ dedication to carbon-neutral weaving. making their products as environmentally friendly as possible and providing one of the greatest eco-friendly presents available. Libeco’s annual funding of an international climate project in Uganda that makes energy-efficient cookers for local people offsets emissions that cannot be decreased in the short term. Each device cuts CO2 emissions by 2 tonnes per year, preventing local deforestation and increasing residents’ lung health.
5. A NATURAL PERFORMANCE FABRIC
Linen is naturally anti-bacterial and thermoregulating, meaning that it is fantastic to wear in summer and warm in winter. And if you do sweat in it, linen is odour resistant. By using linen bedding, duvet covers, throw blankets, bath towels, and kitchen items, you can say goodbye to pesky dust mites and other germs. People who suffer from allergies report feeling relieved when using linen in their surroundings.