European flax stands out for its many natural qualities that promote environmental conservation. It offers a sustainable and local alternative that is particularly well suited to today's environmental challenges. Its cultivation and processing promote responsible agricultural practices, which are recognised by recognised certifications.
Masters of Flax Fibre™ certified European flax is a natural, plant-based fibre produced using sustainable agricultural practices: crop rotation, sustainable water management from sowing to harvest, no GMOs, retting on the ground, generally without irrigation, and extraction of the flax fibre using a 100% mechanical process (scutching) with zero waste.
This approach contributes to soil preservation and reduces the impact of flax cultivation. It is based on the claims made in the Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certification and the unique expertise of European flax fibre producers.
Learn more about the claims related to Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certification™
Flax is grown in rotation, generally every six to seven years on the same plot of land, alternating with other crops. Rotational flax cultivation helps preserve soil quality, limits the development of diseases and enhances the quality of flax fibre. It also helps to increase the yield of the following crop.
Extract from the ARVALIS - Plant Institute study:
Flax can have beneficial effects on other crops by structuring the soil and reducing certain pests. Introducing flax into rotations makes it possible to lengthen the return period for other crops, thereby limiting the diseases and pests that remain in the soil, as well as to break the cycle of certain weeds (...) . The beneficial effect of fibre flax on soil structure is usually reflected in an average yield increase of 5% for the following crop.
Source: Flax fibre: cultivation and processing. ARVALIS - Plant Institute, 2013.
In Western Europe, flax is generally grown without irrigation.
However, due to climatic uncertainties, some farmers may need to resort to irrigation when their plots are located in areas with significant rainfall deficits.
In such cases, irrigation may be considered between sowing and harvesting, with justification, if drought occurs at a critical stage of plant development, jeopardizing its viability.
This decision is made jointly by the farmer and the scutcher and may be supported by a decision support system (DSS). It should be noted that the farmer does not install an irrigation system (such as a borehole) specifically for Flax, but for all the crops on his farm.
The official European catalogue of species and varieties does not contain genetically modified flax. All Western European flax fibre producers have also committed to a GMO-free crop by joining the European Flax™ Charter starting in 2012. As a result, the industry is conducting varietal research to create varieties that would be more resistant to climatic shock and disease.
In this context, the flax industry is conducting varietal research in order to create varieties that are more resistant to climatic hazards and more tolerant to disease.
Flax cultivation requires little inputs (fertilisers and pesticides), due to the nature of flax itself and the sustainable agricultural practices, based on observation, carried out by Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certified flax producers.
Flax has low nitrogen requirements and fertiliser inputs – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – are managed according to soil analysis to precisely meet the crop's needs.(1)
(1)Source: Life Cycle Assessment of European Flax™, compliant with the PEF method, 2022, CELC (now known as the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp).
After pulling, the first stage of flax fibre processing is retting which breaks down the pectose, which binds the textile fibres to the woody part of the stem.
Certified Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ flax undergoes 100% dew retting, without irrigation, where it is subjected to the effects of rain, dew, wind, the sun and natural microorganisms in the soil, in contrast to water retting, used in other regions of the world.
Scutching is the second stage in the transformation of the plant into fibre, following retting. It is a fully mechanical process that involves extracting the flax fibres and separating them from the woody core at the centre of the stem (shives).
100% of the plant is utilised:
Western European growing and scutching practices, and particularly the average common growing itinerary, are explained, quantified and published in the Summary of Life Cycle Analysis of European Flax™, according to the PEF method, 2022, CELC (now known as the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp). Through this study, it is also possible to measure the environmental impact of responsible Western European flax growing practices and to monitor them for the purpose of further improvements.
This study also allows the effects of responsible Western European flax practices on environmental impacts to be assessed, as well as providing monitoring for the purpose of continuous improvement.
Organic flax: Flax is also grown on farms converted to organic agriculture. Its cultivation is then guaranteed to be free of any synthetic products (mineral fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, and growth regulators are prohibited), ensuring the complete absence of these products remain in the fibre or in the soil after pulling.
By 2025, the area of organic flax in France is estimated at 1,323 hectares (including certified and in-conversion surfaces).(2)
(2) Source: Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp, DRAAF Normandie, Association LCbio
Locally grown, flax is cultivated in Western Europe along a wide coastal strip stretching from Caen to Amsterdam. Three-quarters of global long flax fibres production comes from France (Normandy, Île-de-France, Hauts-de-France), Belgium and the Netherlands.
Flax fibre is a renewable fibre with remarkable environmental properties, whose traceability is certified by:
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