With French Hemp, Spinning Mills Remain in an Experimental Phase, but There's Hope
Hemp is emerging as a serious contender in Europe’s sustainable fibre narrative, yet its path to scale remains riddled with questions. Nathalie Revol, hemp project manager at Association Lin et Chanvre Bio, shares insights on land expansion, regulatory hurdles, and the realities of building market-ready textile fibres that can rival synthetics and achieve lasting credibility.
Long Story, Cut Short
- Hemp acreage in France surged from 140 to 2,400 hectares in two years, but stable fibre quality remains untested.
- Despite technological upgrades in scutching mills, underinvestment in infrastructure hampers hemp’s potential to compete with dominant synthetic fibres.
- Transferring Normandy’s flax-hemp integration model across Europe faces climatic limitations and inconsistent regional logistics capacity.
France dominates European hemp production, controlling over half the continent's cultivation area with roughly 20,000 hectares planted in 2023. The French continued growing hemp even when other countries banned it entirely. In 2020, farmers harvested 17,900 hectares, producing 100,000 tonnes of processed straw and 17,000 tonnes of seeds. Hemp requires little water or pesticides compared to other crops, making it attractive to farmers looking to reduce input costs and meet environmental regulations.
French hemp serves several distinct markets, from building materials to food products. Construction companies use hemp fibres for insulation and hemp concrete. Textile manufacturers produce clothing, household items, and technical textiles, with organisations like Lin et Chanvre Bio making progress in this area. The organic hemp seed products market was valued at USD 1.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 3.5 billion by 2033. Hemp also finds use in paper production, animal bedding, bioplastics, and potentially biofuels.
French law separates legal hemp from cannabis by measuring THC content—industrial hemp must contain less than 0.3% THC. The allowable level for cultivation has been relaxed to between 0.6% and 1%, but finished products still require THC content below 0.2%. Only licensed farmers can grow hemp using certified seeds from approved organisations. The National Federation of Hemp Producers and EU bodies oversee regulations. France's highest court confirmed CBD products with less than 0.2% THC are legal if produced legally in another EU member state.
The French hemp sector faces both opportunities and challenges going forward. Growing consumer demand for natural products, sustainable construction materials, and innovative applications across textiles, food, and other sectors are driving growth. However, the industry struggles with inconsistent fibre quality, needs further investment in harvesting technology and processing infrastructure, and faces regulatory uncertainties, particularly around the CBD market. France exports 40% of its hemp seed production globally, and the Grand Est region remains the primary production area.
Lin et Chanvre Bio was created in June 2013, at the initiative of producers and processors of organic linen and hemp. It is committed to bringing together stakeholders in the organic linen and textile hemp sectors in order to create a space for exchange and promote the development of these crops and the local sector. Lin et Chanvre Bio is one of the partners of the Hemp4Circularity project.
texfash: Lin et Chanvre Bio has grown hemp cultivation from 140 ha in 2022 to 2,400 ha in 2024. How do you intend to ensure that this rapid land expansion translates into stable, high-quality textile fibre production—not just experimentation?
Natalie Revol: We worked with flax producers who already have extensive experience in quality flax fibre and apply it to hemp fibre. Once the hemp is cut and paralleled in the field, all the tools are the same as for flax and they are the same spinners
Despite France's pioneering role, actual processing remains fragmented and small-scale. At what point does your association acknowledge that technological innovation alone won’t resolve the structural underinvestment in fibre infrastructure
Natalie Revol: The scutching mills invest each year to improve and expand their scutching lines. Hemp complements flax and is part of the flax rotation. The customers are then spinning mills around the world capable of spinning flax. The spinning mills are still at the experimental stage with French hemp, but we are hopeful that they will be able to produce quality hemp yarns to appeal to the international market.
Your charter includes ensuring fair prices and traceability. How do regulatory restrictions—like THC limits and certification complexity—actually hinder farmer yields and mill capacity in France compared to, say, flax?
Natalie Revol: The scutching mills invest each year to improve and expand their scutching lines. Hemp complements flax and is part of the flax rotation. The customers are then spinning mills around the world capable of spinning flax. The spinning mills are still at the experimental stage with French hemp, but we are hopeful that they will be able to produce quality hemp yarns to appeal to the international market.
You’ve built hemp production on Normandy’s flax machinery and local logistics. Is this region-specific model transferable elsewhere in France or Europe, or is its success dependent on unique local conditions and existing flax infrastructure?
Natalie Revol: This model is being tested across the entire flax basin from Caen to Amsterdam. Its success depends on both the flax infrastructure and the geographical areas where climatic conditions allow for field retting.
The 2050 ambition of one million hectares of hemp in France is laudable. But if global commodity pricing continues to favour synthetic fibres, how realistic is it—and what incentives will actually drive that scale?
Natalie Revol: I don't know the source of this figure but it doesn't seem realistic to me! For textile hemp, if we reach the same figures as flax, i.e. 180,000 hectares in the flax basin, it will be a great success.
Hemp and linen are lauded as sustainable European alternatives, yet combined they represent a minuscule share of textiles. How can consumers trust “local natural fibres” claims when supply scarcity raises questions about accessibility and affordability
Natalie Revol: It seems evident that a natural fibre produced and processed in Europe may result in a higher price than a standard garment. To be truly “desirable” for a broad audience, these clothes must stand out through their quality, durability, and reduced environmental impact. Flax currently represents about 4% of the textile sector; it will not become the dominant material overnight. However, we believe that flax and hemp already are, and will increasingly become, a credible alternative.
Lin et Chanvre Bio aims to rebirth regional textile craftsmanship. But what real economic outcomes have you achieved—for example, average farmer earnings, rural job creation, or youth retention in Normandy—through your efforts over the past decade?
Natalie Revol: As you know, the hemp textile industry is new, but like flax, it is a high-value crop for farmers and contributes to the financial stability of farms. As for local brands, the situation is more complicated because during covid, everyone agreed to buy local and sustainable, but since then it's the opposite that's taking over with the success of brands like Shein!
Nathalie Revol
Hemp Project Manager
Lin et Chanvre Bio
It seems evident that a natural fibre produced and processed in Europe may result in a higher price than a standard garment. To be truly “desirable” for a broad audience, these clothes must stand out through their quality, durability, and reduced environmental impact.
Subir Ghosh
SUBIR GHOSH is a Kolkata-based independent journalist-writer-researcher who writes about environment, corruption, crony capitalism, conflict, wildlife, and cinema. He is the author of two books, and has co-authored two more with others. He writes, edits, reports and designs. He is also a professionally trained and qualified photographer.
- Dated posted: 22 September 2025
- Last modified: 22 September 2025
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