DISTINGUISHING LINEN, HEMP, RAMIE: ORIGIN AND ADVANTAGES

Linen, ramie and hemp are all fabrics made from natural materials and are quite commonly used in the fashion industry today. However, not everyone clearly understands the differences between these fabrics. Today, let’s take a look at the origins and characteristics of these materials with Linen Vietnam!

LINEN

Linen is a woven fabric made from flax fibers. High-quality flax is often grown in Europe, especially France and Belgium.

Read more: WHY IS FRENCH LINEN OF TOP QUALITY?

Advantages

Linen is popular because of its natural properties, no need for pesticides or chemicals during the growing process, making the product environmentally friendly. Made from natural fibers, linen is light, breathable and retains heat well, suitable for hot weather. With its high durability, easy cleaning and biodegradability, this fabric is a sustainable choice for fashion and interiors. In addition, linen has natural antibacterial properties because the pectin in linen fibers has properties that make it difficult for dirt to penetrate.

Disadvantages

Linen is often prone to wrinkling – this is a characteristic, but for some people, wrinkling is a disadvantage of linen that makes them hesitant to choose this fabric. The process of preserving linen such as washing, drying, … will be a bit complicated for beginners.

Read more: IS LINEN SCRATCHY?

RAMIE

Ramie is made from natural fibers of the Nettle plant, also known as green ramie. Green ramie (the type of leaf used to make ramie cake) is grown in warm and humid climates such as China, Brazil and the Philippines. Because green ramie has been grown for a long time and with a large yield in China, ramie is also known by the nickname “China linen”.

Advantages

Ramie is a thick and long fiber, with the highest durability among natural fibers. Ramie has the ability to absorb and release sweat quickly, bringing a cool feeling to the body.

With the characteristic of durable fabric fibers, ramie can withstand strong washing force and can easily remove stains during cleaning. When wet, the durability of ramie fabric will be improved, so ramie fabric products are extremely suitable for summer and products with frequent use and washing frequency.

Disadvantages

A major disadvantage of ramie is that this fabric can cause irritation to sensitive skin, so people with sensitive skin should consider before using ramie fabric products.

HEMP

Hemp fabric is a natural material made from the stem of the hemp plant. Hemp originated in central Asian countries, began to be grown in India and China for fiber, then spread to many temperate countries in Asia, Europe, and America.

Advantages

In terms of texture, hemp fiber has a crisper texture than ramie or linen fiber and feels cool to the touch. Hemp is also a fabric with excellent breathability when it can effectively absorb moisture and sweat.

Hemp fabric is derived from natural fibers, does not require chemical treatment and consumes less water than cotton, and requires little or no pesticides. This is an environmentally friendly fabric thanks to its biodegradability and can be machine washed.

Disadvantages

Compared to ramie fabric, the durability of hemp fabric is somewhat weaker than ramie fiber, but its durability is still stable when it exceeds 4 times the durability of cotton fiber. In addition, because hemp has the characteristics of thick, short fibers and uneven fibers, it is often difficult to spin. Hemp is a rough and hard material, prone to fiber loss and flat fibers during production, affecting the quality of the output fabric.

Linen, ramie and hemp are generally natural materials with sustainability, environmental friendliness and biodegradability. Each type of fabric has its own advantages and disadvantages. Linen is light, breathable and soft, ideal for summer wear but wrinkles easily. Ramie is durable, easy to wash and the fabric surface is drier than linen, wrinkles, but can cause skin irritation. Hemp is durable and breathable, but the texture is thicker and brittle, difficult to handle in production, rough fibers, the fabric surface is a bit stiff, difficult to soften the fabric. Depending on your needs, you can choose the right fabric.