Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The origin of Linoto linen.

We've received a number of inquires about the origin of the linen we sell at linoto. Nearly all of our linen yarn originates from and is woven in Europe, Russia, and The Baltic States. Our basic white linen is woven in the Czech Republic. Many countries (USA included) do not have a climate that can produce linen quality flax. This is why almost all linen in the US is imported. You may see domestic flax seed or flax seed oil but this grade of plant does not produce the long, lustrous fibers needed for high quality linen fabric. Ireland is famous for it's linen. What most people don't realize is that while the Irish are master weavers of linen fabric, the flax plant does not grow well in Ireland and nearly all Irish linen begins as yarn from other countries. The Linoto Belgian eco-linen is imported from Libeco, one of the most revered linen mills in the world.

4 comments:

  1. This is interesting. Do you know the climate requirements for fiber quality flax propogation? I thought the US had just about every climate condition imaginable within it's borders.

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  2. Great comment! We're committed to sourcing local materials wherever possible, and we'd love to sell bedding made with US grown and milled fibers. Sourcing the fine, ecologically sound material used in Linoto linen is one of the most fun - and challenging - aspects of bringing our product to market. We've yet to find any domestic growers and mills that can deliver the fabric we require, but it is a great hope of ours to one day carry American-grown and milled linen with the Linoto label.

    Maybe this blog will help us reach an enterprising mill or two!

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  3. im in family consumer science doing a report on linen.. yay me..ima dude

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  4. I have researched like a mad man for linen sheets sourced from a US based mill. I can't seem to find anything out there. Unless Miliken decides to dive into linen (they most likely won't), textile mills in the South are still hanging onto cotton spinning or have gone high tech / automotive. Best resource I have found to look up styles of mills: http://www.apparelsearch.com/fabric/linen_fabric_mills.htm

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