Masters of Linen vs European Flax: what the linen labels certify

Most of the world's fiber flax is grown in Western Europe, and two certifications from the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp help you tell European linen apart. They're often confused, but they certify different parts of the supply chain.

European Flax: where the fiber comes from

European Flax certifies the flax fiber. It must be grown and scutched in Western Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands), farmed without irrigation or GMOs, and extracted mechanically. Spinning, weaving and garment making can happen anywhere in the world, and any company worldwide can be certified.

Masters of Linen: where it's made into yarn and cloth

Masters of Linen certifies European spinners, weavers and knitters. Every step from fiber to yarn to fabric must be done by European companies, the product must be 100% certified flax with no blending, and traceability runs through each company that owns the material. It's a smaller, stricter club: a few dozen companies, mostly weavers, in eight European countries. Certificates in the Alliance's register run a year at a time.

What it means when you buy

European Flax on a label tells you the flax was grown in Europe. Masters of Linen tells you the yarn or cloth was also made in Europe. Neither covers who sewed the garment, so for that, look at the brand or manufacturer itself.

See Masters of Linen certified mills, linen mills and linen clothing manufacturers. Many of the directory's linen mills come straight from the Alliance's public register.