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In
this day of ever-escalating synthetic "performance" blends,
linen remains the most natural and environmentally-friendly choice for
dressing oneself and one’s home.
Through constant research and development, the processes used to produce this
luxury fiber are continually refined to diminish, and hopefully one
day eliminate, stress to our environment. At each step of production—spinning,
weaving and finishing—lesser or non-polluting methods are constantly
being adopted.
Among
recent improvements are, |
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retting
by field curing is replacing immersion in water, |
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bleaching
is now performed with non-chlorine agents, |
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harmful
dyestuffs are being replaced with new, non-toxic formulae. |
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Beyond
these technological upgrades, the inherent properties of linen and
its manufacture are "eco-friendly" because, |
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flax
is a renewable resource, grown for centuries, |
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every
part of the flax plant has value, eliminating nearly any waste, |
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flax
is easy to incorporate into modern crop rotation cycles, |
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growing
flax requires little fertilizer or pesticides |
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(3
times less than wheat and 13 times less than potatoes, for instance), |
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the
inherent strength of linen yarn reduces the need for applied coatings, |
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linen
is fully biodegradable and is now commonly recycled. |
In
1992, recognizing the growing demand for "green" products, Libeco
launched its Eco-Linen
Collection of bed sheets free of bleaching agents, dyes or finishing chemicals
of any kind. |
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