Grass

The stems of many different types of grass, seagrass, rush, bulrush and sedge, are used to make fibres for textiles. They have not been exploited to the same extent as specialist fibre yielding plants such as flax, ramie and hemp, but nonetheless remain an important source of material for some industries. In our search for more sustainable fashion, furniture and construction, these plants offer materials that are both renewable and steeped in tradition.

Used mainly in handicraft, millinery (hat making), upholstery, matting (tatami) and baskets, each type has a particular use and method of application. Taking advantage of their unique properties takes a great deal of skill and labour and so in most cases, they have been superseded by synthetic alternatives. Polypropylene (PP), for example, is spun as a fibre, textured and dyed to mimic natural fibres. It is inexpensive and the properties may be tailored to the requirements of an application. Paper is slit and twisted to mimic sedge and rush. Produced on an industrial scale, readily available and low cost, these manmade alternatives have become hard to beat.