FABRIC: HIMALAYAN NETTLE
Region: Nepal
Fabric Name:
Himalayan Nettle
Origin:
Girardinia diversifolia
Who made our fabric:
Sourced from Seam Siren, Nepal + USA
Natural history and ecology:
Requiring less water and pesticides to grow steadily, nettle is a much more sustainable option to other natural fibers such as cotton.
What makes this so special: Due to the sharp hairs on the stem of nettle plants, it has been nicknamed “Stinging Nettle.” When these hairs are touched, they release chemicals that cause inflammation. Beneath these stinging hairs, however, there are medicinal properties that are restorative to the kidneys, are anti-inflammatory, and can heal wounds and burns as well.
Cloth as medicine? Wild, stinging nettle from Nepal.
Women from the Kulung Tribe, Bala Territory, Nepal harvest, process, spin, and weave nettle entirely by hand. See our gallery below for more behind the seams.
Image courtesy of Seam Siren, photo by Mary Averill.
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THE PLANT
Wild Himalayan Nettle is the purest fiber available on the market due to its remote growing range and absence of chemicals in all layers of creation. Nettle Fiber is both antimicrobial and hypoallergenic as well as being highly regarded as medicinal in both Eastern and Western cultures. Additionally, it sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and places it into long-term soil storage making it a truly eco-friendly fiber.
In terms of sustainability, nettle is essentially a weed; it grows uncontrollably and insanely fast, making it quickly renewable, in addition to growing with essentially no input. Requiring no pesticides or fertilizers, and only the water that’s naturally occurring, nettle requires no toxins in its harvest. Because the nettle requires no toxic treatment and is a 100% natural fiber, it’s completely biodegradable!
Nettle harvesting requires labor from the surrounding communities, especially in the case of Himalayan nettle (which is always high up in rural Eastern mountains). Because nettle is a year-round plant, workers can harvest the nettle during their off standard farming seasons, providing a better livelihood for their families.
*Information courtesy of Seam Siren. Photo by Mary Averill.
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NETTLE'S HISTORY
Nettle fiber has been dated back to the Bronze Age in Voldtofte Denmark, around 2,000 years ago.
Here’s a little timeline thanks to Seam Siren:
Bronze Age (3400-500 BC): nettle textiles found in burial sites. Research uncovers that the nettle textiles used in these times were spliced, not spun.
European Age (1500-1700): Nettle textiles are the European choice for everything from bedsheets and tablecloths to heavy-duty sails.
Sottish Period (1800): nettle is used in Scotch Cloth – the term used to describe the nettle fabric that the Scottish created and used.
World War I (1914-1918): Germans use nettle in their uniforms, in underclothes, stockings, and tarps when cotton supply ran low. Fishing nets were also made with nettle twine – and, fun fact – nettle was woven in with wool to make all their socks less itchy.
Italian Fashion (2003): Corpo Nove Fashion house uses nettle textile in the production of their Formula 1 jackets, and it’s so well received that they create a nettle-only denim collection.
Image by Mary Averill.
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PLANT AS MEDICINE
Your skin absorbs up to 65% of what is put on it and there are currently over 8,000 chemicals used in clothes manufacturing with direct access to your bloodstream through the dermis.
Plant-based-fibers like nettle, flax and hemp can be processed without chemicals if done in a traditional manner.
Nettle fiber is both antimicrobial and hypoallergenic as well as being highly regarded as medicinal in both Eastern and Western cultures. It is fortifying due to the medicinal properties inherent in the plant, and is known as nature’s multivitamin – rich in a variety of essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and phytochemicals.
As a plant ally nettle is strengthening and protective, making it beneficial for most everyone. Grounding us through its origin in the Himalayas, nettle fiber is helpful in reducing stress caused by modern distractions and stimulus making it among the most resonate clothing textiles available to us.
*Information courtesy of Seam Siren. Photo by Mary Averill.
From the Plant to the Runway
“ I believe that a rising tide floats all boats, so in order to really move the needle in the industry, we all really need to be sharing our resources. If you’re not going to do it for the environment, do it for your own personal health. If you don’t believe in sustainability, believe in your health.”
— Mary Wutz/Himalayan Nettle
Mary Wutz
Meet Mary Wutz, founder of Seam Siren. She traveled the world in search of alternative healing modalities for years. On her journeys, she came across the concept of medicinal clothing while interacting with indigenous groups in remote areas of the world. When she returned home, she further researched this idea and found that there is a very old and rich history of topical healing with plant fibers. After being introduced to the idea of medicinal clothing, Mary grew curious about how we strayed from these traditional practices. She discovered the various ways in which clothing production has transformed over the decades to make production easier and faster, but, in order to do so, we’ve incorporated the use of various chemicals that have been linked to nervous system disruption, disorders, cancers and other medical issues. Is it possible that our clothing is making us ill in the first place? Thus, Mary created Seam Siren to provide a topical healing modality for ease and efficacy. The efficiency of the medicine comes from the plants themselves and their ability to heal simply through contact. After researching various civilizations and their forms of botanical healing, she found an extensive history of the presence of nettle fibers in clothing. From the Bronze Age to present-day Nepali tribes, nettle is consistently used for healing because of its energetics, as well as antimicrobial and antihistaminic properties.