How Sustainable Are Organic Linen Fabrics? A Life-Cycle Analysis
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Organic linen is what you could call a niche product. It is hard to come by, but when you can find products made from it, they often come with praise for their fabric’s sustainability. Organic linen fabrics are made with natural fibers from organic flax – a rainfed crop grown without chemicals. Still, we had to ask: How sustainable are organic linen fabrics?
Organic linen is generally a sustainable fabric. The flax crops, which provide fibers for linen fabrics, sequester carbon and promote biodiversity while requiring no irrigation. Too, organic flax doesn’t use chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides, which have adverse environmental impacts.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the life-cycle of organic linen fabrics used for clothes and bed covers. Then, we evaluate its sustainability, potential, and shortfalls. And in the end, we’ll show you tips for buying sustainable products made with organic linen fabrics.
Here’s How We Assessed the Sustainability of Organic Linen Fabrics
Organic linen fabrics are generally sustainable, mainly because these durable and biodegradable materials are made with natural fibers without chemicals. The flax crop, which provides raw materials for linen fabrics, is rainfed, which means no irrigation is needed.
Organic linen is ranked a class A fabric – the most sustainable category of fibers.
“Sustainable: The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level | Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance”
Oxford Dictionary
To understand the sustainability of organic linen fabrics, we must assess their life-cycle and each stage’s sustainability. This life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and materials. Over the years, companies have strategically used LCA to research and create more sustainable products. So, let’s have a look at the LCA of organic linen fabrics!
In this article, we’ll use the cradle-to-grave perspective of the LCA, examining the five stages of the life-cycle of clothes and bedding made with organic linen fabrics. When applicable, we also look at cradle-to-gate assessments.
The life-cycle stages of organic linen fabrics | Each stage’s sustainability |
Sourcing of organic linen fabrics | Sourcing organic flax fibers as raw materials for organic linen fabrics is generally sustainable because the flax crops sequester carbon and promote biodiversity. Growing flax requires no irrigation, and planting flax organically means no synthetic fertilizer and pesticides (and their adverse environmental impacts) are involved. |
Manufacturing of organic linen fabrics | Because it is a mechanical process, manufacturing organic linen fabrics can be sustainable, even if it is labor-intensive. Additionally, organic linen fabric production doesn’t involve the synthetic chemicals sometimes used to reduce labor, quicken the process, and modify non-organic linen fabrics. |
Transporting of organic linen fabrics | The transportation of organic linen fabrics might have a significant carbon footprint because of the emissions associated with transporting vehicles. Organic linen fabrics typically travel from fields (where flax plants are grown) to factories, then sorting centers, shops, and consumer’s houses before going to recycling centers or landfill. |
Usage of organic linen fabrics | The usage of organic linen fabrics tends to be less sustainable because of the relatively high energy consumption for washing, drying, and especially ironing. However, organic linen fabrics are durable, which means a longer lifespan and lower replacement frequency. |
End-of-life of organic linen fabrics | The end-of-life stage for linen fabric is generally sustainable because it is reusable, biodegradable, and compostable. |
Overall, we can say that organic linen fabrics are generally sustainable. However, the actual environmental impact of a particular product, like a linen bed cover or a PJ, depends on more specific factors, including the type of energy used in manufacturing and usage, and the distance and mode of transportation.
Let’s dive deeper into each life-cycle stage and find out how you can buy organic linen fabrics more sustainably.
How Sustainable Is the Sourcing of Flax Fibers for Organic Linen Fabrics
Sourcing organic flax fibers as raw materials for organic linen fabrics is generally sustainable because the flax crops sequester carbon and promote biodiversity. Growing flax requires no irrigation, and planting flax organically means no synthetic fertilizer and pesticides (and their adverse environmental impacts) are involved.
What Raw Materials Are Used for Organic Linen Fabrics
Natural cellulose fibers extracted from flax plants grown organically is the main material used for organic linen fabrics.
How Do the Raw Materials Sourced for Organic Linen Fabrics Impact the Environment
The main raw materials for organic linen fabrics come from flax plants – a biodiversity-enhancing rainfed crop with carbon sequestration potential. Sourcing organic flax is sustainable (more so than sourcing conventional flax) because organic farming uses no synthetic chemicals, which could pollute the air and water and come with negative global warming impacts.
- Carbon sequestration
As flax plants grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere while releasing oxygen. They act as a carbon sink, taking greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere and helping to mitigate the climate crisis.
Every year, one acre of flax sequesters and stores almost 1,5 tons of carbon dioxide (or 3.7 tons CO2 per hectare).
For example, according to the European Confederation of Linen and Hemp (CELC), all the flax plants grown in Europe retain, each year, an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to the CO2 emissions generated by a Renault Clio car driving around the world.
- A rainfed crop with a short rotation
The flax crop can grow without irrigation. Rainwater is enough to keep a flax field growing. This is in contrast to the water-thirsty cotton plant. (The global water footprint for a kilogram of harvested cotton is around 10,000 liters).
Because of this difference in the cultivation stage, a linen t-shirt has one-quarter of the water consumption of a cotton t-shirt (cradle-to-grave).
A flax field can be harvested after around 100 days. In comparison, the growing season for cotton is 150 to 180 days.
- Organic flax farming uses no fertilizer and pesticides
Though flax plants don’t generally require synthetic fertilizers or pesticides to grow, it doesn’t mean such agrochemicals are never used in conventional flax crops.
On the other hand, organic flax farmers feed their crops using natural fertilizer and protect the plants against pests with measures such as crop rotation and natural enemies. They don’t use chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides.
Thus, there are no adverse environmental impacts associated with these agrochemicals, which include greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, ecosystem disruption, and health risks for farmers and nearby residents.
For example, excess nitrates from fertilizers used in most non-organic flax can get into water streams and harm our ecosystems.
- Land usage with multiple benefits:
Flax can be used as a between crop to break with monocultural farming, increasing ecosystem diversity and soil quality.
A field of these flowering plants provides food and valuable habitats for insects.
When flax is planned as a resting crop, it helps restore soil nutrition because the roots of the flax plants reach deep and aerate the soil.
Lastly, cellulose fibers are just one product that can be harvested from a flax crop. Other products are flaxseed and linseed oil, extracted from the plant’s seeds for different purposes. Even flax seeds have been gaining popularity as a healthy food (and a vegan alternative to eggs).
Because of the low-water and zero-chemical input of the organic flax plants and the benefits of using land for flax cultivation, the sourcing stage of organic linen fabrics is highly sustainable.
A systematic review of the life cycle inventory of clothing shows that linen, whether organic or not, is the virgin fiber with the lowest environmental impacts in the sourcing stage. The study also includes cotton (conventional, organic, recycled), hemp, jute, wool, silk, Tencel, modal, viscose, and several synthetic fabrics.
Where Are the Raw Materials for Organic Linen Fabrics Usually Sourced From
Flax plants can grow in various soils and climates, but the optimal conditions for their thriving are well-drained sandy soils in temperate climates. Most of the world’s flax (about 85%) is grown in Europe.
Here are some European countries where flax is cultivated, both organically and conventionally:
- France
- Belgium
- The Netherlands
- Germany
- Denmark
- Poland
- Austria
- Italy
- Spain
- Switzerland
- The UK
Flax fibers cultivated in Europe are likely to follow comparatively strict safety and environmental protection standards.
How Sustainable Is the Manufacturing of Organic Linen Fabrics
Because it is a mechanical process, manufacturing organic linen fabrics can be sustainable, even if it is labor-intensive. Additionally, organic linen fabric production doesn’t involve the synthetic chemicals sometimes used to reduce labor, quicken the process, and modify non-organic linen fabrics.
How Sustainably Is Organic Linen Fabrics Generally Manufactured
Organic linen fabrics are made with natural cellulose fibers extracted from flax stems (or so-called flax stalks). Once separated, flax fibers can be woven into yarn in a mechanical process.
The mechanical process sets linen (and other natural cellulose fibers, including cotton and hemp) apart from regenerated cellulose fibers, such as rayon, acetate, and cupro, which are made in chemical processes.
The manufacturing process of linen fabrics, including the organic variety, typically follows these three steps:
- Extract cellulose fibers from flax: After the flax plants are pulled out of the ground and combed, the flax stems/ stalks are left. They are then decomposed in a retting process. Organic flax farmers use two retting methods:
- Dew retting: Using natural moisture to ferment the stems for a couple of weeks (while flax stems are distributed in the field and exposed to dew).
- Water retting (or vat): Submerge flax stems in water. The water source could be a stagnant pond, a flowing river, a vat, or a tank of (warm) water. Heated water fastens the decomposing process.
- Process fibers into yarns using mechanical processes, such as:
- Crushing
- Combing
- Straightening
- Spinning
- Finish the yarns using further processes to turn the threads into the final fabrics, including
- Bleaching
- Dyeing
- Washing
- Drying
- Weaving
Let’s now deep dive into a few key sustainable issues of this life-cycle stage:
The Environmental Impacts of Retting Varies Depending on the Methods
Each retting process used in organic linen manufacturing has pros and cons, and their environmental impacts are varied:
- Water retting sometimes uses a high volume of water. The water also needs to be heated, which uses energy.
- Dew retting is the most sustainable extracting method. It doesn’t require finding a water source and producing extra energy and chemicals. Also, dew retting allows nutrients to return to the soil through natural decomposition.
Manufacturing Organic Linen Fabrics Uses No Chemicals
Organic linen manufacturers don’t use chemical-based substances in their production, whether it is during retting, dyeing, or finishing.
Thus, there are no risks of these chemicals leaking into the environment and hindering linen fabrics’ biodegradability.
Manufacturing Organic Linen Fabrics is Labor and Energy Intensive
Harvesting flax plants for linen fibers and manufacturing linen fabrics are labor-intensive. While machinery can replace human labor in various steps, energy is required for machine operation.
When energy sources are mainly fossil-based, which is often the case in manufacturing factories based in China or other Asia countries, carbon emissions of this stage increase accordingly.
Non-organic linen manufacturers might use chemicals to fasten some processes and reduce labor (such as in chemical retting), but it is not the case with organic flax.
Where Are Organic Linen Fabrics Usually Manufactured
Though most of the flax crops are located in Europe, linen fabric factories spread wider, with China being the largest manufacturer. The list of the biggest linen fabric producers (both organic and non-organic variety) includes:
- China
- Ireland
- Italy
- Belgium
- France
- The US (predominantly homeware linen)
Energy Usage at Linen Manufacturing Locations Varies Based on Each Country
Because manufacturing linen, organic variety included, is energy-intensive, using renewable energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass) significantly reduces carbon emissions at this stage.
According to Our World in Data, Italy’s share of renewable energy in primary energy is 18.36% – the highest percentage among all top linen producers.
Following are the renewable energy share in primary energy in the biggest linen-producing countries:
- China: 14.95% renewable energy
- Ireland: 17.58 % renewable energy
- Italy: 18.36% renewable energy
- Belgium: 9.34% renewable energy
- France: 13.67% renewable energy
- The US: 10.66% renewable energy
How Sustainable Is the Transportation of Organic Linen Fabrics
The transportation of organic linen fabrics might have a significant carbon footprint because of the emissions associated with transporting vehicles. Organic linen fabrics typically travel from fields (where flax plants are grown) to factories, then sorting centers, shops, and consumer’s houses before going to recycling centers or landfill.
In the life-cycle of linen clothes, transportation typically occurs as below:
- From fields where linen raw materials are grown to the linen fiber and linen fabric manufacturing location(s)
- From the clothing manufacturing location to sorting centers/physical shops
- From sorting centers/physical shops to the consumer’s house
- From the consumer’s home to the centers for recycling/ disposing
Traveling Distances of Organic Linen Fabrics Vary Depending on the Supply Chain
It is not uncommon for natural cellulose fabrics like linen to have their supply chain spreading globally, meaning that crop cultivation, fiber production, fabric spinning, and clothes manufacturing might happen in various towns, countries, or even continents.
Here are some scenarios for transporting organic linen fabrics:
- Farmers grow organic flax in Denmark to be sourced and transported to a manufacturer in China. Final pieces of linen clothes are then shipped to the US to sell to consumers.
- Organic flax fibers are harvested from fields in France and transported locally to a high-end linen factory nearby. Organic linen clothes are then sold primarily to the European market.
- Manufacturers in the US source organic flax from Belarus and transport the raw material to factories in the US to turn into clothes and bed covers before selling them to US consumers.
You can reduce the transporting carbon footprint by choosing organic linen fabrics that travel a shorter distance from the fields and are made closer to your home.
The Carbon Footprint of Transporting Organic Linen Fabrics Depends Largely on the Vehicle of Transportation
During its life-cycle, a piece of linen clothing can be transported using various types of vehicles, including:
- Large container ships
- Planes
- Freight trains
- Long-distance trucks
- Short-distance delivering vans
And these various types of transportation vehicles have different carbon footprint impacts:
- Large container ships are generally the most carbon-efficient option for international transportation of goods, while planes are the heaviest carbon emitter.
Large container ships emit, per unit of weight and distance, half as much carbon dioxide as a train and one-fifth and one-fiftieth as much as a truck and a plane (respectively). - Deliveries made by planes – for example, to fulfill fast shipping options for clothing – are the mode of transportation with the highest carbon footprint.
For example, you as a consumer can choose not to pick the fast delivery option when ordering linen clothes to reduce the carbon footprint of your linen items.
How Sustainable Is the Usage of Organic Linen Fabrics
The usage of organic linen fabrics tends to be less sustainable because of the relatively high energy consumption for washing, drying, and especially ironing. However, organic linen fabrics are durable, which means a longer lifespan and lower replacement frequency.
Using linen fabrics (the organic variety included) has a specially high environmental impact because linen fabrics wrinkle easily. As linen fabrics require relatively high ironing time, their global warming impacts are elevated if fossil fuels are the main sources of energy at a user’s home.
Linen fabrics (both organic and nonorganic varieties) are strong and durable materials made with natural fibers. Compared to cotton – also a textile material made with natural fibers – organic linen fabrics are stronger and more sunlight resistant, which could result in a longer lifespan.
Long-lasting clothing is generally more sustainable because you don’t need to replace it too frequently (thus, no need for more resources to make the new one).
How Sustainable Is the End-of-Life of Organic Linen Fabrics
The end-of-life stage for linen fabric is generally sustainable because it is reusable, biodegradable, and compostable.
Linen fabric is 100% cellulose, making it a biodegradable material. At the end of the fabric’s life, there are generally three available options:
- Composting
- Incineration
- Landfilling
It takes about only two weeks for pure (unblended) organic linen fabrics to start the decomposing process. In comparison,
- cotton fabrics typically take 11 weeks,
- rayon fabrics (regenerated cellulose fibers) take from six to eight weeks
- plastic-based items could take up space in the landfill for up to 100 years
Organic linen fabrics can also be recycled and upcycled. It is possible to recycle linen using the same mechanical method as cotton. However, because of the tiny market share of organic linen fabrics, having dedicated linen recycling facilities deems impractical. (Linen accounts for less than 1% of global textile production, and only 1% of it is the organic variety)
How Circular Are Products Made of Organic Linen Fabrics
In the textile industry, a circular economy is designed to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible, especially through reusing and recycling. It also covers regenerating natural systems that support the industry and reducing polluted waste released into such systems.
“The circular economy is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.”
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
As a whole, the textile industry is almost linear: 97% of the input is new resource.
It is possible to recycle organic linen fabrics mechanically, physically, and chemically, depending mostly on whether the materials are pure linen or a blend.
How Can You Buy Organic Linen Fabrics More Sustainably
The key to sustainably buying linen products is to check on relevant environmental and original certifications.
- USDA ORGANIC: This certificate is applied to growing the crop (raw material), ensuring natural agricultural products are produced that can be certified as “organic.”
- Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS): A globally-recognized certification system that ensures a certain threshold of organic content has been met. It covers manufacturing, packaging, labeling, transportation, and distribution (but not what happens in the fields where crops are grown).
- USDA Certified Biobased Product: The USDA BioPreferred® Certification is a voluntary certification offered by the United States Department of Agriculture. The certificate identifies products made from plants or other renewable materials.
- STeP by OEKO-TEX®: STeP by OEKO-TEX® is an independent certification system for brands, retailers, and manufacturers from the textile and leather industry. It communicates organizational environmental measures, including reducing carbon footprint and water usage.
- MASTERS OF LINEN ®: A registered trademark signifying quality linen made 100% in Europe, from field to yarn to fabric.
Some certifications are signaling brands’ efforts toward lowered environmental impacts and a circular economy are:
- B Corp Certification: The label B Corp is a certification reserved for for-profit companies. Certified holders are assessed on their social and environmental impacts.
- Cradle2Cradle certification: Cradle2Cradle provides a standardized approach to material circularity. It assesses whether products have been suitably designed and made with the circular economy in mind covering five critical categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.
Where to Buy Sustainable Organic Linen Fabrics
We have established throughout the life-cycle assessment that organic linen fabrics are generally sustainable. Yet, we compile for you a list of some of the most sustainable brands selling organic linen fabrics (in alphabetic order):
Why Is It Important to Buy Products Made of More Sustainable Fabrics
It is important to buy products made of more sustainable fabrics because a sustainable textile industry has a lower carbon footprint, helps save natural resources, and is better for forests, animals, and humans.
Buying Sustainable Fabrics Reduces Your Carbon Footprint
The production of clothing and footwear is estimated to contribute 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than all international flights and shipping combined. If the fashion industry were a country, it would be the forth largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
One way to reduce the carbon footprint of the clothes you buy is to opt for sustainable fabrics. Sustainable fabrics, which are often made with natural or recycled fibers, have relatively low carbon footprints compared to petroleum-based fabrics. For example, organic cotton made in the US has a carbon footprint of 2.35 kg CO2 (per ton of spun fiber) – a quarter of polyester’s carbon footprint.
Buying Sustainable Fabrics Reduces Demand For Natural Resources and Waste Management
The textile industry uses water and land to grow cotton and other fibers. It is estimated that 79 billion cubic meters of water were used for the sector worldwide in 2015. For example, producing a single cotton t-shirt requires as much water as one person drinks for 2.5 years (2,700 liters of fresh water).
Worse yet, the textile economy is vastly more linear than circular: the largest amount of resources used in clothes ended up in landfill (instead of being recycled to remake clothes). According to a report by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation,
- Less than 3% of materials used in the textile economy in 2015 came from recycled sources.
- In other words, more than 97% of resources used in making clothes are extracted new.
When clothing items are disposed of within a short period of time – under a year in the case of half of the fast fashion clothes – the natural systems that provide raw materials for fabrics don’t have enough time to recover and regenerate, which could lead to ecological breakdown.
Sustainable fabrics are made with less water and emissions while lasting longer:
- Because they are durable, you don’t need to buy new clothes too often.
- Thus, you help reduce to pressure to extract more resources for making new items.
Similarly, making and consuming sustainable fabrics made with recycled materials reduces the demand for virgin materials while helping tackle waste management.
Buying Sustainable Fabrics Encourages Sustainable Management of Forests
Sustainable plant-based fabrics are made with raw materials from forests and plantations that are sustainably managed, such as complying with FSC standards.
When you buy sustainable plant-based fabrics, you discourage unsustainable forestry practices like illegal logging. You can help reduce deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the effect of climate change.
Buying Sustainable Fabrics Encourages Fairer Treatment of Animals
The fashion industry is rife with animal mistreatment when it comes to making animal-based fabrics like cashmere or leather. Every year, billions of animals suffer and die for clothing and accessories.
Buying sustainable vegan alternatives can help to reduce the pressure on raising more and more animals to meet the demand for animal-based fabrics while sacrificing their well-being and lives.
Suppose you have to buy fabrics made with, for example, leather or wool; make sure you only choose brands committed to cruelty-free products. In that case, you help advocate better treatments for animals raised within the textile industry.
Using Sustainable Fabrics Encourages Fairer Treatment of Textile Workers
Recent statistics from UNICEF estimated as many as 170 million child laborers worldwide, many of whom were engaged in some form of work in the textile industry. They don’t get paid minimum wages and often work long hours.
When you buy sustainable fabrics from brands transparent about the working conditions at their factories, you discourage the use of child labor and help promote better working conditions for textile workers.
Final Thoughts
Organic linen fabrics are one of the most sustainable fabrics available. It is made in a mechanical process with chemical-free flax fibers. Also, flax crops have several environmental benefits, including capturing carbon and promoting biodiversity.
To make it even more sustainable, buy second-hand organic linen clothes, use organic linen clothes and household items for as long as possible, upcycle the material to extend its usage, and arrange for it to be recycled appropriately.
Stay impactful,
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