Linen is particularly popular in the summer months. For several years now, the material has been conquering the European Wardrobes. The material is an absolute star in high temperatures because of its cooling effect on the skin and its pleasant feel. Here you can find out everything about the environmentally friendly material and the advantages and disadvantages of linen.

The flax plant as an all-rounder

Linen is made from flax. In fact, the plant is also known by the following name: common flax or the Latin term “Linum usitatissimu”. The plant is a natural all-round talent that people recognized 30.000 years ago and have been using ever since. The raw material is used to make Linseed, Linseed oil, bed linen, Trousers, shirts and napkins are produced.

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Linen: natural fabric made from flax fibres

Linen is made from the fibers in the stem of the flax plant and has the advantage of growing in many parts of the world. In Europe, for example, it can be found around the Mediterranean, in northern France, the Netherlands and northern Germany, i.e. relatively regionally. The natural fiber consists of 90 percent plant-based products and is therefore particularly environmentally friendly.

But it is not just its origin that makes flax sustainable, but also its cultivation. Little water and low fertilizer and pesticide requirements ensure that flax is a rather undemanding plant and has a small ecological footprint. The flax plant is an annual flowering plant that grows for around a hundred days. For classification: cotton takes about eight to nine months to harvest.

How linen is produced

After the flax is pulled from the ground by its roots, the inner fibers are separated from the stem of the plant. This can be done by leaving it to dry in a field for several more months or by human hands using water and chemicals. The former is used primarily by more ecological flax farmers.

The fibers are then separated from the straw, combed and then sorted by length so that the fabric is evenly sized. This is followed by spinning, a process in which individual fibers are spun into threads, which are later woven to create the final fabric. The fabric gets its characteristic shimmer from the smooth surface of the fiber and its wax coating.

The finished product is characterized by its durability, breathability and longevity. Linen is actually considered antibacterial and allergy-friendly.

All-round talent linen

Due to its versatile properties, linen is used in the fashion industry as well as in home textiles. Linen bed linen is particularly known for its cooling and airy properties and is therefore popular in German Bedrooms in summer. Linen products can also be found in the dining room, as napkins and tablecloths made from the natural fiber impress with their high quality. But linen is particularly popular in the clothing industry. Linen can be used as trousers, shirts, dresses or even as underwear in sustainable fashion brands being found.

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Advantages and disadvantages of linen fabric

1.Advantages of linen fabrics

• Environmentally friendly production: Unlike other conventional materials in the fashion industry, little water, fertilizer and chemicals are used in the production of linen.
• Sustainable: Compared to most fabrics used in the textile industry, linen is one of the most sustainable. This property is mainly due to the ecologically friendly cultivation process of the flax plant. Breathable, cooling and moisture-absorbing: Linen is particularly popular in summer because it Absorbs up to 20% of its own weight in moisture before it starts to stick to the body.
• Timeless: Linen has been worn for 30.000 years and has never gone out of fashion. Even the ancient Egyptians appreciated the natural fiber. Its elegant yet casual look and its mostly natural color ensure that it can be worn at any time.
• Durable: The fabric is considered to be absolutely robust, hard-wearing and also tear-resistant, which makes the fabric long-lasting.
• Hypoallergenic: The fabric is considered antibacterial and allergy-friendly due to the microclimate it produces on the skin.
• Versatile: The ecologically valuable fiber can be found in both home textiles and fashion items, making it an absolute all-rounder.
• Comfortable to wear: Due to its light and thin structure, linen garments are comfortable to wear, as is its breathability.

2. Disadvantages of linen fabrics

Already convinced of the positive properties? Although there are no real disadvantages that would make you decide against linen clothing, you should consider the following points beforehand:

• Inelastic: If you love wrinkle-free clothes, this is not the right place for you. Since linen fabric is not really elastic, it wrinkles easily and often has to be ironed out with a (steam) iron.
• Expensive: According to a study by the Alliance for European Flax-Linen and Hemp, the average price of linen in March 2024 was 55 percent higher than the previous year. This is probably due to the increasing popularity and the complex manufacturing process of the material.
• Very complex manufacturing process: The laborious process of separating the fiber from the stem makes production very demanding. As a result, companies do not leave the stems in the field to rot, but instead use chemicals and water, thus polluting our waterways. Nevertheless, it must be said that, on average, linen is still much more environmentally friendly to produce than cotton, for example.
• Toxic dyeing process: Environmentally conscious brands hardly dye their linen clothing at all or use environmentally friendly products. However, this is usually different for large companies that sell linen. They use highly toxic chemicals to dye their clothing, which of course leads to the contamination of our groundwater.

Cotton and linen in comparison

Cotton is the most popular textile fiber in the world and accounts for about a third of all the materials that make up our clothing. But is it the ultimate choice for our garments? Or could it be that linen will soon replace cotton?

Flax uses only 20 percent of the water needed to grow cotton. This is mainly because flax thrives on natural rainfall alone. Cotton is a demanding plant that needs a lot of love in the form of the right soil, lots of water and special chemicals and fertilizers.

In order to achieve the most profitable yield from flax, five times fewer or almost no pesticides and fertilizers are needed than for cotton. Accordingly, soil and groundwater are not taken into account too much. In general, the production of cotton fabrics requires an enormous amount of environmentally harmful substances. For example, cotton is dipped in a lye bath made of baking soda and ammonia to make it shiny and more stable.

Cotton shirts wear out more and more with each wash. Linen products, on the other hand, have the property of becoming softer after each wash. Accordingly, the fabric made of flax is even more durable than cotton. It should be noted, however, that linen wrinkles more quickly and is less elastic than products made of cotton.

The fabric is said to be perfect for summer due to its airy properties, but a linen shirt will keep you just as warm in winter as one made of cotton.

It can be said that linen is almost superior to cotton in many aspects, as it is grown more sustainably, the fabric is more durable and it is even more comfortable to wear. However, it will still be a long time before linen is considered the undisputed favorite of clothing manufacturers. This is mainly due to the mass use of cotton in the textile sector. Cotton is used at a share of around 22 percent in the clothing industry, while linen is far behind this value at 0,3 percent.

How sustainable is linen?

Linen is one of the oldest and most sustainable fabrics of all. Even conventionally produced linen fabrics are already more sustainable than normal cotton and synthetic fabrics. This is because significantly fewer chemicals and fertilizers are used, which means that flax can be grown in an environmentally friendly way for the most part. The fabric is even considered to be almost completely biodegradable if it is not mixed with other fibers.

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How do you care for linen?

Treating our clothes carefully is the key to a sustainable lifestyle. There are certain things to consider to ensure that linen clothing lasts longer:

• When washing, only fill the machine halfway so that the linen clothes can float
• Use a gentle rinse cycle up to 40 degrees and select a low spin cycle
• Iron linen while damp
• Do not use brighteners, bleach additives or fabric softeners as detergent
• Strong light bleaches linen, so it is best not to dry it in direct sunlight

FAQ's:

What is linen made of?

Linen is a natural fiber that is almost completely biodegradable. It consists of the fibers inside the flax plant. Its properties include being particularly robust, tear-resistant and therefore durable, as well as being cooling, breathable and moisture-absorbing.

How to wash linen clothes?

The best way to care for linen is to wash it on a gentle cycle. The selected program should have few revolutions and a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. Linen loves to "float". This means that the washing machine should ideally only be loaded with a few items of clothing - about half full.

Which is better linen or cotton?

Linen is considered to be more sustainable, durable and hard-wearing than cotton. Cotton products wear out much faster and therefore need to be replaced more quickly. Aside from its properties, linen is also characterized by the fact that less water and chemicals are used to grow its raw material.