Abaca / WP

Abaca, a plant also known as Manila hemp or banana hemp, is native to Eastern Asia. Similar to flax, but much coarser. The greyish brown fibre is obtained from the fibres of the leaves, which are up to 2 m long. It is rarely used for the clothing sector. Abaca is biodegradable.

Cotton / CO

Cotton makes up more than half of textile fibres worldwide. Principal countries of production are the USA, China, India, Pakistan and Russia. The highest-quality cotton is from Egypt, the USA and Peru (Lima). They have the greatest fibre length, fineness, purity, strength, colour and sheen. Cotton fibre is the seed fibre of the cotton plant. In the past, it was picked by hand. This is the reason slaves were taken to the southern states of the USA. Today, cotton picking is done by huge harvesting machines.

However, the enormous water consumption required for its cultivation and the processing of the fibre are not very positive from an ecological point of view. Cotton can be both woven and knitted and can be used from lightest weights (Voile) to extremely heavy fabrics (e.g. as protective gear or as technical fabrics). Cotton is also often the base material for coated fabrics. The recycling of cotton into textile materials is only possible to a very limited extent. However, cotton can be re-used as filler or coarsely spun out fabrics (e.g. cleaning cloth). 

Properties: Cotton contains 7-9% moisture in its normal state // Cotton can absorb up to 40% of its weight in water // Cotton is more tear-resistant when wet than dry // Cotton has a pleasant feel, does not irritate the skin and is therefore often used for clothes worn near the body. Also used for hygiene articles // Cotton creases easily, however, this can be reduced through treatment with chemicals // Cotton can be boiled without causing permanent creasing // Cotton is great to iron // Cotton is excellent for bleaching white and just as good for dyeing in the most brilliant lightfast and colourfast tones // Cotton is biodegradable

Hemp / HA

Hemp and ramie are stem fibres, similar to linen or flax, but much coarser. Therefore, their use for textile outerwear is limited. Nowadays, both are also used as an organic alternative to plastic for interiors in automotive manufacturing. The hemp plant is the famous Cannabis Sativa. It is cultivated in the USA, Europe, and South America and used there for the production of industrial products as well. Hemp is also biodegradable.

Linen (Flax) / LI

Linen, the oldest and one of the most elegant textile products, was already cultivated by Egyptians and Babylonians over 4.000 years ago. It had its prime in the Middle Ages, before cotton had arrived to Europe.  Linen is the only textile fibre native to Europe. Growing regions are Belgium, the Baltic States, France, Ireland and Russia.

Linen is also a stem fibre that is only harvested once a year. The fibre is obtained from the roving of the bast cells and then spun into yarn in an elaborate process. Linen can be turned into all types of products for clothing and linen, both woven and knitted. However, the fibre is coarser than cotton, so it cannot be spun out as fine as cotton. Only a product with a net textile weight of 100% linen may be called Pure Linen.

Half linen must consist of at least 40 % linen in the weft and 60 % cotton in the warp. 

Properties: In the last few years, a multitude of finishing processes have been developed which changed the feel and look of the fabric considerably. New high-quality blends with silk, wool and cotton have also been marketed. Due to its chemical structure, the bleaching and dyeing of linen is similar to that of cotton. Linen creases with class, but can also be finished in a way that reduces the tendency to wrinkle. Linen has a natural sheen and is great to iron. Linen has an even higher moisture absorption than cotton. Linen is also significantly tougher than cotton, which is why it is used frequently in the linen/household sector. Linen is biodegradable and anorganic fibre par excellence.

Flax neither requires the enormous amounts of water for cultivation nor the multitude of pesticides, because the climate in Europe is completely different from the very warm cotton producing regions. Linen can even be produced entirely organically.

Ramie / RA

Ramie, also called Chinese grass, is the bast fibre of a nettle that grows primarily in China, Korea, and Indonesia. It is harvested 2-3 times per year. Ramie is the strongest textile fibre there is. It is similar to linen, but much coarser and stiffer, which is why its use in the clothing industry is rare, except as fancy yarn. Nowadays, ramie is used on a large scale as high-quality insulating and filling material, e.g. in the automotive industry (BMW in the electric models). Ramie is biodegradable.