Linen

Linen: an ancient plant with a modern comeback

Linen has quietly returned to the spotlight after being overshadowed in the 19th century by industrial cotton. Behind this renewed interest lies a rare combination: a natural European fiber, strong and breathable, with serious environmental advantages and a long cultural history.

Botanically, linen is an herbaceous plant from the linaceae family. There are nearly 200 species, but the one used for fiber is cultivated flax, Linum usitatissimum. Its delicate pale blue flowers hide a long history: the Egyptians already used flax fibers for clothing and for wrapping mummies. Archaeological findings suggest linen is the oldest textile in the world, with an estimated age of around 36,000 years.

Despite this heritage, flax remains a niche fiber in today’s market. It accounts for only about 2.4% of global natural fiber production, while cotton represents around 75%.

Where linen grows and why Europe leads

Flax thrives in temperate climates that combine sunlight with regular moisture. It particularly likes coastal regions where sea air, rain and mild temperatures meet. This is why Europe, and especially France, has become the heartland of linen cultivation.

France is the world’s leading producer of flax, and Europe as a whole accounts for about 85% of global production. In France, the main growing areas stretch across Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France, with additional fields in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Because flax is largely grown in Europe rather than in low-cost producing countries, local labor and stricter regulations influence both its price and its environmental profile.

From flax plant to linen fabric: a long transformation

Once sown, flax reaches maturity after roughly 120 days. The path from plant to fabric is entirely mechanical and involves a long series of operations that demand time, know-how and specialist equipment.

After pulling the plants rather than cutting them to preserve fiber length, they are laid on the ground to undergo retting, a natural process that separates the textile fibers from the woody core. The straw is then rolled into bales and collected. Next come scutching and hackling, which mechanically separate, clean and align the fibers so they form a homogeneous sliver.

Only then can the spinning, weaving or knitting and finishing begin. Each of these steps is slower and more delicate than for cotton. Transporting flax to scutching facilities costs about twice as much as for cotton, the processes call for more manual work and specific skills, and European labor costs are higher than in Asian farming regions. All of this helps explain why linen is naturally more expensive.

How linen is used today

Textiles and homeware

Around 90% of flax is used in the textile industry. Linen appears in trousers, shirts, jackets and dresses, but also in home textiles: curtains, cushions, tablecloths, napkins, duvet covers and bed linen.

Because flax is a European crop, many clothing brands look to Normandy and neighboring regions to build collections that are genuinely made in France, from field to finished product. Some projects built their entire identity around Norman linen, such as the brand Brumes, which unfortunately closed in June 2025. Others, like T-shirt Propre, Le Gaulois Jeans, 1083 and April & C, continue to highlight linen in T-shirts, jeans and trousers. Bed and table linen are also major outlets for flax fibers.

Food and wellness

Linen is not limited to fabric. Its seeds and oil are prized for their nutritional profile, especially their high omega 3 content. They are used both in human food and in feed for animals.

Technical materials and zero-waste uses

Beyond womens and mens fashion and food, flax is increasingly chosen as a technical material. Its fibers can replace glass or carbon fibers in composites used in transport, construction and sports equipment. Lightweight, strong, insulating and biodegradable, flax offers interesting properties for tennis rackets, surfboards, skis and eco-construction.

The plant is also used in papermaking for ultra fine papers such as cigarette paper, bible paper and some banknotes. Straw fragments known as shives (anas) are recovered during fiber extraction and used as garden mulch, animal bedding, raw material for particle boards or even as fuel.

Linseed oil has its own life in cosmetics and in products like paints, solvents and varnishes, reinforcing the idea that the entire plant can be valorized.

Why linen is considered an eco-friendly fiber

Linen is often cited as one of the most responsible fibers available, and not just because it is grown in Europe.

Flax is a low-input crop. Unlike cotton, which can require large amounts of water and chemical inputs, flax grows well in poor soils, needs little irrigation and shows good natural resistance to disease. Rainwater is usually enough, whereas cotton grown in China may require around 5,200 liters of water per kilogram. In many cases, flax can be cultivated with few or no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides. Even when grown conventionally, its footprint remains relatively moderate.

As it grows, flax also captures carbon. One hectare of flax sequesters about 3.7 tonnes of CO2 per year. Every part of the plant can be used: seeds for food, oil and solvents, long and short fibers for textiles and technical applications, shives for construction and energy, and plant residues for compost. At the end of life, untreated linen fibers are biodegradable and can be recycled or composted.

For France in particular, flax is a natural, local and renewable resource that supports regional agriculture and short supply chains.

Comfort, style and care

Linen fibers have a hollow structure that can trap a thin layer of air. This contributes to a mild thermoregulating effect. Combined with generally straight and loose cuts that do not cling to the body, linen clothing allows air to circulate during hot weather. The same structure also helps fibers take dye well, resulting in vivid, nuanced colors.

In use, linen reveals its strength. Thanks to the length and structure of its fibers, linen fabrics resist pilling and do not deform easily. They tend to age well and even improve with time: the more they are washed, the softer and more supple they become.

Visually, linen is associated with natural, timeless style rather than fast-moving trends. It often conveys elegance, simplicity and authenticity.

Everyday care is simple. Linen garments usually only need a machine wash at up to 40°C and line drying. Separating whites from colored items is enough to preserve fabrics over time.

The main limitations of linen

Wrinkling and feel

One of the most common criticisms of linen is its tendency to crease and sometimes feel stiff. It can wrinkle more quickly than other textiles and may feel slightly rough depending on the weave.

However, this is not a fixed trait. With each wash and wear, linen softens and becomes more fluid. Blends with cotton or wool can increase elasticity and comfort. Washed linen, which undergoes specific pre-washes to soften the fibers, is increasingly popular in both fashion and home textiles. Knitted linen, used for T-shirts and sweaters, also tends to crease less.

A higher price point

Linen costs more than many other fibers, whether synthetic or natural. Its limited share in global production, the long mechanical transformation chain and European labor all contribute to its higher price. Compared with cotton, flax remains a rarer and more demanding resource, which is reflected in the final price of garments and home textiles.

Processing that is not always as green as the crop

The ecological advantages of flax depend on how the fiber is processed. Once the plant leaves the field, it may be exposed to conventional dyes, chlorine bleaches or other chemical treatments that reduce its environmental benefits.

It is not always easy to obtain full transparency on every processing stage. Certifications such as GOTS or Oeko-Tex help identify linens made from organic fibers or guaranteed free from harmful substances. Washed linen, which requires additional water, can also offset the low irrigation needs of the crop itself.

A fragmented supply chain, slowly rebuilding locally

A final paradox lies in the journey flax takes after it is harvested. While the plant is largely grown in France, about 80% of the fibers are shipped to China for spinning because France lost its last flax spinning mill in 2005. The nearest alternative belongs to Safilin in Poland. Shipping European flax to Asia for spinning, then returning it as yarn or fabric, increases the carbon footprint of linen products and exposes them to less regulated industrial environments, including the use of coal and weaker rules on chemical discharges.

In recent years, several projects have aimed to rebuild a fully European, and even fully French, flax supply chain. Encouraged by demand and collectives such as Linportant, the Alsatian company Emanuel Lang opened a flax spinning mill in March 2020, before a major fire in May 2021 jeopardized its activity. Safilin decided to repatriate a production unit to Béthune in northern France, operational since March 2022. The agricultural cooperative NatUp, together with linen weaver Lemaitre-Demeestere, has also established a spinning facility near the Norman fields in Saint-Martin-du-Tilleul.

While waiting for full traceability and a truly French, field-to-garment chain, labels such as Masters of Linen can be used as a guide. They guarantee, among other criteria, that finished linen products are entirely made in Europe.