Nettle clothes

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Did you know that there are many different materials to make clothes and some of them are very environmentally friendly?

In any case, much more respectful of the environment than the most used materials like cotton for example.

For example, to make cotton jeans, you need between 5,000 to 10,000 liters of water. According to specialists, between 30 and 50% of the pesticides on the planet are used for growing cotton.

I heard on the radio yesterday when I came home from work that a French company, Velcorex, had plans to make textiles with nettles.

This weed may well revolutionize the fabric industry, indeed, it requires very little water to grow, very little pesticide or maintenance, or not at all.

Indeed, nettle is basically a weed that grows by itself without the help of anyone and does not need a lot of water.

Nettle and more particularly its fibers allow to create a fabric as solid as ecological.

The nettle

In the Middle Ages, nettle fibers were used to make ropes, threads and even clothes. This technique was used from the twelfth century to the seventeenth century, until the replacement of the nettle by the silk thread.

While cotton has supplanted most other plant textile fibers in the world, in the Himalayas, the use of a local nettle to make ropes, fabrics and paper has continued to this day.

The nettle stalk is a textile fiber of excellent quality, it is both natural and biodegradable but also light and strong.

The hollow fiber of nettle has very interesting qualities in terms of thermal insulation, thanks to its ability to trap air in the fabric. This natural property can be exploited by manufacturers to obtain an insulating fabric or on the contrary a cooler summer fabric.

Nettle is a perennial plant whose culture does not require any pollutant.

Velcorex

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This company has decided to invest in its future and that of the environment with its clothing brand 100% nettle. She is aiming for timeless clothes such as denim jackets and pants to start with.

Contrary to what one might think, the nettle-based fabric does not sting, in fact, it is the stems and not the leaves that are used during its manufacture.

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You will find below a video of a man who makes a rope with nettle fiber, he speaks French but the pictures speak for themselves.

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Bonus : nettle soup

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Ingredients

700 g of nettle

Boiling water (quantity to determine according to your tastes, I prefer thick soup so I do not put a lot of water, just nettle level no more)

10 cl of cream (not necessary unless you want it more creamy)

20 g of butter

Preparation

Step 1

Cut the nettles and remove the stems.

Tips : leave them on the ground for 15 minutes when cut so you do not sting and put on gloves.

Step 2

Wash them and then chop the leaves.
Sweat the leaves in the butter until they are melted and then add the boiling water.

Step 3

Mix and add the cream if necessary.

It's simple but super good and good for health too.

Indeed, nettle has a thousand and one beneficial properties for the body and has many minerals, vitamins, trace elements, chlorophyll.

It has tonic properties, diuretic, depurative, detoxifying, soothing, anti-allergic, hemostatic, antidiarrheal, vermifuge, antibacterial, ...

You can also drink it as an infusion.

I hope this article has more and made you want to taste the nettle soup. The most complicated being not to get stung but given all the benefits it offers us, it would be stupid to deprive ourselves.

Be careful, however, not to be confused with other plants which are very similar to it but which are not edible. So get a book guide with pictures or better ask an expert who will help you pick the right plants