Elementary textile fibres
made from hemp, nettle and linen.
Elementary
textile
fibres
Welcome to Felde Fibres. We produce elementary textile fibres from bast fibre plants such as hemp, linen, European stinging nettle and many more.
Elementary fibres are the highest degree of fibre opening in the world of bast fibres. As opposed to seed fibres such as cotton, bast fibres are found in the stem of the plant where they are arranged as a sheath around the wooden core of the stem. In this sheath arrangement the bast fibres are glued together to fibre bundles with nature’s glue lignin. The challenge of producing fine bast fibres for textiles is thus to open the fibre bundles into single, unitary fibres: the elementary fibres.
The coarser fibre bundles, which are most commonly used in textiles, pose difficulties in spinning which results in irregular yarn thicknesses and prohibits finer yarn counts. This substantially limits the range of applications and produces improper fabrics. Elementary fibres on the other hand allow for regular yarns, a soft hand feel and a clean appearance of fabrics.
Felde Fibres has developed a proprietary production method which achieves an exclusively fine quality of elementary fibres from hemp, linen and the European stinging nettle. Our fibres are used in woven and non-woven applications as the core of end-products that meet the highest standards of quality and sustainability. We welcome you to discover more about our unique fibre production below.
Proprietary
technology
We achieve our outstanding elementary fibre quality thanks to our proprietary production method. Felde Fibres has developed a production line consisting of mechanical and wet processes which not only allow for the finest degree of fibre opening but also for the most efficient use of resources and a virtually 100% yield of the textile grade fibres present in the plant material.
With more than a decade of experience Felde Fibres has always had the aim to achieve the highest possible bast fibre quality for textile purposes and gained a deep technical understanding of decortication and degumming. We have thus partnered with the industry’s major equipment manufacturers in order to redesign and develop new machinery.
We are particularly proud of our steam explosion degumming process, which we have fundamentally reinvented. With extensive heat recouperation and water recycling technology, we are drastically cutting the consumption of energy, water and utilities.
Applications
of our fibres
Our elementary fibres made of hemp, linen and nettle are used for a wide range of textile applications.
For spinning we offer our fibres in natural staple length as well as cottonised. At appr. 60mm the natural length is suitable for combed and worsted yarns, especially for blends with wool. These yarns can be used for luxurious knits and men’s suiting.
The mechanically cottonised fibre is appr. 30mm long and thus suitable for ring spinning, OE and air jet yarns. The cottonised fibres can be blended with cotton, Tencel and any other fibre used in the above spinning technologies. This allows for a virtually limitless range of applications such as jersey, sweat fleece, fine knit, denim, outerwear, shirting, dresses, just to name a few.
The content of bast fibres in blended yarns can be varied in order to achieve desired hand-feels, weights, properties and price points.
Our elementary fibres are equally well-suited for non-woven applications such as fleeces for wadding, fillings for bedding products amm. For wadding and bedding products our fibres are also often blended with cotton, wool, Tencel among others.
Do you want to inquire our fibres?
Send us an E-Mail to info@felde-fibres.com
Grown by
German farmers
The textile industry is dominated by cotton and synthetic fibres which both have challenges with regards to their environmental impact. Synthetic fibres are problematic since they are based on mineral oil and cause a significant amount of microplastic. Cotton on the other hand needs excessive amounts of fresh water and uses a disproportionately high share of the agrochemicals used globally. Furthermore, its cultivation raises ethical questions in some parts of the world. These factors make cotton very ill-suited to be cultivated at a large scale
Bast fibre plants on the other hand are ideal to be grown at a large scale. The European nettle is a permaculture and hemp and linen do not use excessive resources or chemicals.
Especially hemp is predestined to be grown at a large scale since it has many benefits for the soil and uses no pesticides or herbicides while having a very high yield at the same time.
The local sourcing of our hemp paired with our new processing technology which cuts water and energy consumption by min. a factor of 5 results in a textile material which has a dramatically reduced resource consumption and at the same time improves the environment it grows in.
Felde Fibres is proud of offering the most sustainable textile fibre in the world that is available at scale which allows our customers to create truly sustainable products as well as to make meaningful steps towards a more sustainable and transparent supply chain.
Sustainability
The textile industry is dominated by cotton and synthetic fibres which both have challenges with regards to their environmental impact. Synthetic fibres are problematic since they are based on mineral oil and cause a significant amount of microplastic. Cotton on the other hand needs excessive amounts of fresh water and uses a disproportionately high share of the agrochemicals used globally. Furthermore, its cultivation raises ethical questions in some parts of the world. These factors make cotton very ill-suited to be cultivated at a large scale
Bast fibre plants on the other hand are ideal to be grown at a large scale. The European nettle is a permaculture and hemp and linen do not use excessive resources or chemicals.
Especially hemp is predestined to be grown at a large scale since it has many benefits for the soil and uses no pesticides or herbicides while having a very high yield at the same time.
The local sourcing of our hemp paired with our new processing technology which cuts water and energy consumption by min. a factor of 5 results in a textile material which has a dramatically reduced resource consumption and at the same time improves the environment it grows in.
Felde Fibres is proud of offering the most sustainable textile fibre in the world that is available at scale which allows our customers to create truly sustainable products as well as to make meaningful steps towards a more sustainable and transparent supply chain.
WORLDWIDE UNIQUE
Felde Fibres is the only company worldwide to be GOTS-certified for all three bast fibers mainly found in Europe: hemp, nettle, and linen.
The GOTS standard sets strict criteria regarding organic cultivation and prohibits the use of toxic and environmentally harmful chemicals.
New
facility
Currently, the production of our textile fibers operates out of in small-scale production facility in Groß Helle, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Here, we are already today producing our high-quality fibers on a small scale.
However, in 2022, a new chapter in German textile fiber production was initiated. With a new partner and capital, the NFC Nettle Fibre Company GmbH, which has been in existence since 2011, was renamed Felde Fibres GmbH, and the planning of a large, industrial-scale production facility with newly developed technology and improved quality was set in motion.
Our new facility is currently being built in Neuruppin, Brandenburg, on an area of nearly 3 hectares and will consist of four buildings with a total floor space of 14,000m2: two storage buildings for raw material, one mechanical processing building with office and employee facilities as well as one wet processing building.
In the new facility, our proprietary production technology will be able to annually process 20,000 tons of straw into 5,000 tons of finest quality textile fibers. We are planning to take the first mechanical processing line into operation in Q1 2025.
The location in the Temnitztal valley along the high way A24 provides excellent logistical infrastructure all the while being a characteristically agricultural region.
Jobs
To launch our new location in Temnitzpark near Neuruppin, we will be assembling a team of plant operators. We will advertise the positions through multiple job placement agencies and organize meet-and-greet events. Feel free to check back on this page to stay updated.
Unsolicited applications can be sent to info@felde-fibres.com.
Standorte
Felde Fibres GmbH
Temnitz-Park Neuruppin
Lindenallee 2
16818 Dabergotz
Felde Fibres GmbH
Dorfstr. 15
17091 Gross Helle/Mölln
Firmensitz
Felde Fibres GmbH
Temnitz-Park Neuruppin
Lindenallee 2
16818 Dabergotz