Linen Curtains are the Best Ecological Choice

If you are looking for the perfect addition to your home, consider adding linen curtains to your decor. You’ll be glad you did when you discover that linen curtains not only add a touch of elegance to any room they are placed in, but they also enhance the quality of the rooms feel with their insulation and cooling characteristics, anti-microbial and mold resistant qualities, and their incredible durability.

With global warming concerns looming over us, you can trust that linen curtains will be the most ecological choice. Unlike nylon and polyester which can release harmful chemicals into our environment upon manufacturing and decomposition, linen is derived from completely natural sources and is biodegradable. Linen breaks down easily without leaving any traces of harmful chemicals or gases that can hurt our environment. It is comprised of natural Flax fibers, not synthetically like so many other fabrics you find on the market.

Flax is a flowered herbaceous plant that is blue in color, and can also be referred to as Linseed. What’s great about the farming of Flax is it hardly requires any fertilizer or pesticide use. It uses an amazing 5 times less fertilizer and pesticides than that of cotton. Making your decision to choose linen curtains over cotton curtains an even better one!

The Flax fiber that is used to make linen is extracted from the skin of the plant’s stem. The fiber strands that are collected from the stem are soft, lustrous, and flexible. Interestingly, they give the appearance of blonde hair when bundled together – hence the term for hair color “flaxen”.

Flax is harvested once it has matured after approximately 100 days. Methods of harvesting can range from manual harvesting to use of a combine to complete this job. After the Flax is harvested, they are then dried. The seeds are first harvested from the dried result, a similar process to the harvesting of wheat and oats, and then the Flax straw is harvested afterwards.

Preparation of the Flax fibers for spinning comes next. The first step is a process called ‘retting’. Retting is the intentional rotting of the inner stalk so the outer fibers are left intact and can be used to make linen fabric. The retting processes are completely natural and can be done in several ways: pond retting (which is quickest), stream retting, field retting, or tank retting (which usually uses a trash can or water tight container).

Once the retting process has been completed there are still coarse fibers remaining which are then removed by breaking the straw into short pieces, leaving the fiber unharmed. The product is then ‘scrutched’, which means the straw is removed from the fiber by a scraping process. Lastly, the product is combed through by being pulled through ‘hackles’ so the last of the straw is removed from the fiber. This last process yields the final fiber product that will then be used to craft beautiful linen pieces – such as linen curtains!

Buying and producing as many organically derived materials as possible these days is imperative. Linen is created using completely safe and green methods, improves your homes own ecosystem, and when discarded will decompose quietly back into the Earth. Linen is a little more expensive than other fabrics, but absolutely worth it with the soft elegance it adds to any room and the confidence you’ll have knowing you chose an eco-friendly product.