The flax plant from which linen is made requires no irrigation. There is no issue over genetically modified crops. The process for producing the plant is completely natural and the process for producing linen fiber from the plant is mechanical, so it uses no chemicals. Linen is, in essence, a result of blending, with up to 20 or 30 blends in the finest yarns.

By 2025, cotton, polyester and linen used by Inditex will be organic, more sustainable or recycled. The goal covers all of Inditex’s eight brands including Zara. Cotton, polyester, viscose and linen together comprise 90 per cent of all the raw material that Inditex sources. The group has established an in-house label called Join Life.

The Inditex statement is a call for linen producers to embrace certification programs that are already in place so that buyers can have confirmation from third-party certification bodies that the fibers meet their requirements. One of the programs available, European Flax, which includes audits from bodies including Bureau Veritas, is enough to win inclusion in Inditex’s Join Life. Another certification program is called Masters of Linen, which guarantees that the linen is 100 per cent made in Europe, from fiber and spinning to weaving and knitting.

European farmers produce 85 per cent of the global supply of linen fibers.