For a new era of plant fibres
This spring we shared the theme “New age under fibers”.
At weavearth, we promise to keep our brand resources as open as possible. Below we introduce key practical, technical points together with the actual steps (first time published in Japan). The content is technical.
Details of our visit are in the first part and second part.
(From TEXTILE EXCHANGE 2023 GROWING HEMP FOR THE FUTURE)
The structure of textile hemp (excluding flowers and leaves) is broadly divided into the outer bast and the central woody core (hurd/shive). The bast becomes spinnable fibre; the core goes to industrial/material uses (we noted an important point about this on our visit—covered in the next technical piece).
↑ After harvest, fields progress to the stage below ↓
Textile hemp starts with retting
The first step that separates bast and core is called retting (same as for flax/linen). Cut stalks are left in the field for about a month so natural forces—mainly rain and dew—activate microbes that loosen pectins and make fibre separation easier (think of drying rice straw after harvest to ease later processing).
This step reflects the “as-harvested field” conditions—especially colour—and varies year to year with weather. Unlike northern France (a flax/linen region), climate, soils, and farming calendars here differ; retting typically continues until mid-November (European linen and hemp usually finish around September).
It’s a crucial step, yet ultimately a gift from nature. Our role is to receive it and do our best—true in both Europe and China.
Next up: the most critical step for textile hemp—Decortication. We’ll introduce the decortication plant (around December 20).
