European Confederation of Linen and Hemp (CELC) has launched its European Flax label at the Première Vision show that took place in Paris from 17-19 September.

It has also announced the creation of the ‘Observatoire des Fibres Liberiennes’ (Bast Fibre Authority), aiming to establish a common platform for specialised textile and clothing laboratories for the identification of bast fibres such as linen, hemp and ramie.

Green fibre on demand

Faced with an informed and demanding consumer concerned about the origin and composition of the products they use, CELC has created a premium European flax fibre brand, which is said to preserve, promote and safeguard a uniquely European agriculture and industry, it's regional origin and local expertise.

Acknowledged as the green fibre of the future, European flax, applied to linen products in forms of fibres, yarns, textiles or composites, is a guarantee to be recognised by the final consumer, CELC reports.

Strategic development

CELC believes that as the only European organisation uniting the whole of the linen and hemp industries, it now undertakes a strategic decision by creating the Observatoire des Fibres Libériennes, a development that is expected to support the European Flax and Club Masters of Linen labels.

According to CELC, this initiative is underpinned by the development and standardization of a testing and analysis protocol.

The standard identification protocol

It becomes necessary to define and determine an indisputable new method of analysis, CELC reports.

Tests and analyses by Arvalis Institut du Végétal on finished products demonstrate how the different stages of the textile production chain alter the DNA, ultimately rendering it unusable. This, the confederation says,  proves DNA as an unreliable form of identification.

Lacking a uniform frame of reference at the outset, it was only after several months of dialogue with the laboratories for textile expertise in France, Italy and Belgium that the Observatoire succeeded in establishing a benchmark programme for the analysis of bast fibres.

Fibre examination

The protocol for an accurate identification of the three fibres, linen, ramie and hemp, developed by the Observatoire, is based on:

• method of fibre preparation
• microscopic examination
• expertise in comparing fibres with reference fibres
• identification of distinguishing markers
• analysis of intrinsic physical behaviour

After bringing together the laboratories, technical and research centres, which are a reference point for the European textile and clothing industries, CELC hopes to make Observatoire accessible to leading providers of quality and control services.

www.europeanflax.com