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Rough Linen began ten years ago as a kitchen table start-up, based on our family history with linen and a love of linen’s qualities and heritage. The company’s growth was, and still is, organic, driven not by venture capital or the need for a quick return. With us, it’s personal.
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Linen has been spun by humans for over 65,000 years, that’s quite a history! Linen is a bast fiber, made of the stem of the flax plant from root to tip, completely natural and biodegradable.
In comparison with cotton, cultivating linen uses less fertilizer, far less water, and next to no pesticide. Rather than insects, flax’s natural enemy is the adorable field mouse, which nibbles the stems to make a nest, and eats the seeds.
Linen is a naturally technical and highly versatile material.
- Highly breathable & absorbent
- 100% biodegradable & recyclable
- Hypoallergenic & easy care
- Dirt repellent & anti-pilling
- Durable & long-lasting
By producing 97% locally, in California, we reduce our carbon footprint and support the local economy.
We are devoted to Ethical Manufacturing practices for our sewers: flexible hours, natural light, safe working conditions, fair wages, benefits and medical coverage.
We practice small-scale, agile production so we can respond quickly to demand, avoiding large overseas production runs which can lead to greater waste. This can mean delays on popular items so please bear with us—we are sewing as fast as we can!
We create with the slow fashion philosophy in mind: our sustainable designs are always timeless, simple, and not defined by seasons.
We revel in running our own woman-led design studio, and we only make what we love for ourselves. We range in age, coloring, size and body types, but we all love thoughtful, subtle design with great fit, and versatile, easy-care clothing in natural fibres and beautiful colors. Every piece in our clothing collection is designed to be endlessly wearable, washable and versatile.
We are big believers in the creative reuse and donation of our linen scraps. We make smaller items from off-cuts of our linen, sewing some into beautiful patchwork quilts, storage bags, smaller napkins.
On request we send artisans, crafters and teachers a box stuffed full of good-sized linen scraps for the cost of shipping and handling only. We love to see what they make!
Our packaging has always been minimal. We wrap in tissue and ribbon, and use recycled cardboard boxes. We refuse to use plastic in any of our materials & packaging, and continually strive to move towards a zero waste standard.
Over half fabric’s carbon footprint comes from aftercare. Loving and taking care of everything in your closet can significantly reduce the climate impact of your purchases. We suggest cold water wash, minimum detergent, and some natural drying (when possible), and finishing with a short tumble to release the texture.
Read About Linen Care >We like to do our part in supporting our community and charitable organizations, and we regularly support local teachers, crafters, events and causes. We enthusiastically collaborate with local organizations like Bay Area Made supporting local makers, hosting holiday markets and helping to get the word out about these events. We get a lot of fun out of hosting collaborative workshops teaching skills like floral design, simple sewing and embroidering.
In support of our community, we are making and donating masks for Kaiser Permanente staff and first responders while California is in lockdown.
Masks for Covid-19 >
