Linen Vs Ramie Whats The Difference?

Ramie fabric is known by different names as grass linen, grass cloth, or China linen since it was first introduced in the West in the eighteenth century. The word "Ramie" comes from an ancient Malayan word, which is anglicized as "ramie". In India it is called by different names such as Rhea, Popah, KhunKoora, Kurkunda etc. Ramie is made from ramie, one of the oldest fibre crops. Its been in use for the last six hundred years. It was even used in mummy clothes in Egypt during 5000-3000BC. In China its been grown since 1300 AD, long before cotton entered the country. Its been found in Chinese burial shrouds. One can find the mention of ramie in the ancient Indian literature i.e. drama "Sakuntala" written by Kalidas about 400 AD and also in the age old epic Ramayana.

Ramie fabric is used in manufacturing of clothes, curtains, towels, twines, threads, pullybelts, ropes and cordages, water carrying bags, fishing nets, fire hoses, industrial packings, canvas upholstery fabrics, furnishing materials etc. It is also used for the manufacture of shoes, cigarette papers and even the papers for currency notes.

In the present scenario, China is the biggest producer and the largest exporter of Ramie followed by Brazil and Philippines.

Ramie is one of the strongest natural fibers and possesses many qualities of cotton and linen. Like linen, ramie has poor resiliency and wrinkles easily. Some other traits that ramie and linen have in common are: high luster, anti-bacteria and molds, and dries quickly. Given their similar traits, oftentimes ramie is mistaken for linen.

But ramie has a few disadvantages: it gets harsher after every wash and causes skin irritation. If you are looking for something tender and soft-to-touch then its better to opt for linen. Linen is expensive than ramie and is more durable. Linen is woven from flax fibres and has high luster. It does not cause skin allergies, resistant to bacteria and molds and has thermo regulating properties.

Currently, Europe remains the world's largest producer of flax, and Russia is now the largest producer of linen fabric. Countries that are the largest fabric exporters with regard to linen are: Belgium, Ireland, Holland, France, Russia and Switzerland.