The lotus flower fiber and sustainable luxury

Abstract

The lotus flower—of great religious and cultural significance- is adored for its characteristic of rising above the muddy water, indicating how one can rise above defilements of life. Apart from motivation for life, the plant also provides fibers which are used for making a rare kind of cloth matching with the flawless virtues of silk. Extracting fibers from the lotus stems have been in practice since 1910. Later during the 90’s designers of Japan setup workshops to create a foreign market for their fabric. But due to low demand in Japan, the lotus fiber fabric remained a rare and handmade textile. The lotus plants are pure by virtue, and they radiate this purity through their fibers. The fabrics are 100 % organic, and hence they are environmentally friendly. The entire process of fiber extraction, spinning it into yarn and making the fabric is completely handmade making the process time-consuming. This also limits the quantity of the fabric produced. Stems of the lotus plants are collected, cut, snapped, and twisted to expose their fibers. These are thin and white filaments around 20–30 in number, which are rolled into a single thread. Around 20–25 women are needed to extract fibers this way for one weaver to work with. Fibers extracted from the stem are spun into yarn. The extracted fibers are placed in the skeins on a bamboo spinning frame preparing them for warping. Yarns are made by placing the fibers on a bamboo spinning frame and transferring the thread into winders for warping. With much care, not to get tangles, threads up to 40 m long are made. These threads are then taken from the warping posts, and are coiled into huge plastic bags. Yarns for the weft are wound into bamboo bobbins. Yarns are woven in manual looms. Excess warp is stored and later released during the course of weaving. During the weaving process, threads are frequently moistened with water, as the lotus fibers need to be kept cool. The fibers are very delicate and should be woven within 24 h of being extracted so as to prevent their deterioration. The fabric looks like a blend of linen and silk, and has wrinkle resistant and breathable properties given by the molecular makeup of the lotus plant. Based on the experience of the Italian luxury brand Loro Piana, but mainly in the Somatoa, a company founded by Awen Delaval in Cambodia, this chapter examines the potential of this fiber in the (sustainable) luxury sector.