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In the design and lifestyle sector, the structural performance of a material is not necessarily the most important factor in its selection. Visual appearance is key and, as flax and hemp material producers look to increase their adoption in the design field, members of the Alliance of European Flax Linen & Hemp are extending the colour pallet and offering more than natural flax fibre colours. If consumers are also able to include an improved environmental footprint when making their purchasing decisions, coloured sustainable flax and hemp fibre materials can provide interesting combination of properties that can be hard for traditional composites to match.
CultureiN has recently launched a refreshed pallet of 24 shades of its Varian® material. Varian® is a bio-based thermoformable blend of flax and thermoplastic yarns, and was initially conceived as a functional, decorative, and material option for interior architecture, design, lighting, automotive, aeronautical, and luxury goods. Featuring natural, pearlescent and black shades, the new shades in the colour range allow designers to create amazing new combinations.
Terre de Lin also provides coloured options of their materials by supplying 100% dyed flax fibre coloured rovings that manufacturers can then incorporate into their own production process. These untwisted parallel fibre 200 to 2400tex rovings are chemical free and can be customized to suit each application as the colour is added at the fibre stage. The new coloured rovings are optimised for easy thermoset or thermoplastic impregnation and can be used across many typical composite production processes.
Additional products that focus on availability, ease of processing and ready-to-use intermediate products are also available for the high-volume design & lifestyle field, with both Demgy and Libeco continuing to refine product offering.
Flaxcomp® clear, a Demgy product that was launched in 2023, has been continually optimised to combine lightweight, recyclable, high-volume thermocompression and injection overmoulding processing with the unique look of a woven natural Flax 2×2 twill reinforcement. The highly customizable technology is being targeted at high production rate markets such as the automotive interiors, luxury goods and sport & leisure sectors.
Libeco, a longstanding member of the Alliance for European Flax Linen & Hemp also offers a key range of six naturally coloured stock fabrics. As a Flax weaving specialist since 1858, Libeco offers a range of 100% Flax, 100% pre-washed woven textiles that offer unprecedented possibilities in eco-conscious design. The UD and bi-directional fabrics are available in weights of 150-560gsm, with all 6 new variants being continuously stocked to ensure constant availability and delivery as each project requires.
“Thanks to their exceptional technical properties such as lightness, strength and acoustic performance, Flax fibres are now becoming a new material option for the design and lifestyle sector,” said Julie Pariset, Innovation & CSR Director of the Alliance. “These remarkable fibres are now enabling low impact composite solutions that are helping designers, engineers and entrepreneurs create a more balanced environmental future without compromising on their creativity.”
Photos: coloured flax fibres (source: Alliance of Flax, Linen & Hemp).
More informationhttps://allianceflaxlinenhemp.eu/en“]] CultureiN has recently launched a refreshed pallet of 24 shades of its Varian® material. Varian® is a bio-based thermoformable blend of flax and thermoplastic yarns, and was initially conceived as a functional, decorative, and material option for interior architecture, design, lighting, automotive, aeronautical, and luxury goods. Featuring natural, pearlescent and… Read More