Nettles are known for their painful sting, caused by many hollow stinging hairs which act like hypodermic needles that inject histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals. They have a long history of use in medicine, flavorings in things such as wine, tea, soup and beer, and in soap and shampoo. This jack-of-all-trades plant also have stong, soft fibers in its stem that works perfectly for high performance technical fabrics. Go figure.

Sting. Manufactured by Camira Fabrics.

Camira Fabrics spent four years in research and development of their product called Sting, which is a sustainable fabric made from nettles. The Defra supported project was in conjunction with academic partner De Montfort University to create a new environmental textile for contract upholstery applications. “The project has involved research into nettle cultivation, harvesting and fibre extraction; fibre processing, blending, weaving and dyeing; technical performance evaluation and life cycle assessment. – Camira Fabrics

Nettles are not only naturally strong and elastic, but they also have built-in fire retardant properties. When blended with wool, they create a fire retardant fabric which outperforms many other wool based fabrics available. The aesthetic of Sting is designed to “exhibit its natural rustic charm in a fancy hopsack with a soft, tasteful colour palette inspired by the English countryside and hedgerow.” I can’t think of a better description. The color pallet is comfy and natural feeling, as is the texture of the fabric. Unlike so many contract fabrics, nature and raw materials really come through in the look of Sting.

Fabrics are now increasingly specified from our Second Nature environmental collection, which features natural pure new wools, innovative new natural fibers from rapidly renewable bast fiber plants, climate neutral wools, and ultra high endurance fabrics for extreme longevity. The ultimate environmental textile is our Sting range which contains a unique blend of wool and bast fiber obtained from cultivated nettles without the need for any chemical processing or additives.

About the Company: Camira Fabrics is a UK based textile company that holds the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. Their first exploration into environmental product design was the introduction of a recycled woollen upholstery fabric made from discarded army jumpers. The company prides itself in the use of renewable raw materials which decompose fully at the end of life. Energy efficient high speed looms, intelligent lighting, and an on-site recycling center diverts over 100 tons of yarn and cardboard per year away from landfill for re-use.