Nettle

Clothing from nettle

Ouch! you may be thinking but the nettle has been used to produce a fine fiber that can be spun and woven into cloth. Cloth has been woven from the fibers in mature nettle stems for many centuries - frequently used for tablecloths and sheets in Scotland.

Being similar in texture to those materials produced by flax and hemp fibers the cloth also became widely used by the German army during the First World War when there was a shortage of cotton for the soldiers' uniforms.

The juice of the stems and leaves has been used to produce a permanent green dye, while a yellow dye can be obtained from boiling the roots. Both colours have been used extensively in Russia.

An Italian fashion company introduced an environmentally friendly alternative to contemporary textiles and dyes. They have woven fabric from stinging nettle fibers, used in the past for the uniforms of Napoleon's soldiers and also to replace cotton yarns that were unavailable during World War I and II. The name URTICA, as it is called in Europe, derives from the Latin word "uro" which means to burn.

Existing problems in the agricultural sector underline the need for alternative crops. The stinging nettle is a perennial plant which thrives on nitrogenous and over-fertilized soil and also has environmentally sound cultivation methods as well as a resistance to diseases and pests so they do not need dangerous pollutants to protect them.