Ventile Fabrics: From Edmund Hillary to Hemp Blends
Ventile Fabrics. A company that is mostly unknown to the general public, yet it is an important part of British history, and continues to be important as the company pioneers sustainable fabrics at a time when fast-fashion has taken over our shopping. From making practical outfits for pilots during the Second World War, to creating the ‘Summit’ jacket for Sir Edmund Hillary, to pioneering recycled cotton fabrics in the 21st century, Ventile has a rich history that I think needs to be heard more.
Established in the late 1930’s, Ventile was founded in Manchester to create a substitute material for the construction of fire-hoses. The company then cemented itself in British history, as during the Second World War Ventile pioneered its iconic material, Ventile cotton, that was worn by pilots flying over the Atlantic. The part of Ventile’s history that most excites me was its involvement in mankind’s reach to the summit of Mount Everest. In 1953 sir Edmund Hillary reached the world’s highest point on the first summit of Everest in clothes made from Ventile fabrics, famously the ‘Summit’ jacket. In an environment where temperatures can reach -60° C, Hillary’s clothes were made from densely woven cotton fabrics. The tightly woven construction prevented water from penetrating the fabric, yet the breathability of cotton meant that moisture from the body did not become trapped. Hillary’s climb took approximately seven weeks for him to complete, during which he faced some of the world’s harshest conditions, and his Ventile made ‘Summit’ Jacket successfully protected him from high winds, extreme temperatures, and snowfall.
Sir Edmund Hillary (left) with Rear-Admiral George Dufek. Image Credit: PICRYL
A lot then changed for Ventile in the second half of the 20th century as the dyeing industry saw a dramatic shift, and Ventile had to adapt quickly. Up until the 1980’s, Talbot Weaving, the owners of Ventile Fabrics, dyed and finished the fabrics in the UK, but dyeing houses quickly began to go out of business, in part due to the rise of synthetic dyes being used instead of natural ones. The company had to send their fabrics over to Switzerland for final treatments, but then the dyeing houses in Switzerland also began to close. In 1994, Stotz & Co, a Switzerland based fabric shop, partnered with Ventile, and after considerable research the company acquired the skills needed to do its own dyeing and finishing.
Since the start of the 21st century, Ventile Fabrics has been working on producing high-quality cotton from recycled textiles and biodynamic farming, and has been pioneering hemp blends and chemical-free treatments for fibres. Daniel Odermatt, Ventile’s Brand Director, explained to me via email the processes that the company goes through to produce their high-end sustainable materials, including their recycled cotton, their hemp blends, and their eco-conscious water-repellent finishes. A staple of the Ventile creations is their original recycled cotton. Made from “pre-consumer cotton waste sourced from the apparel, home furnishing and bed linen industries”, Ventile source cotton that would have been sent to landfills and give it a new life. The pre-owned cotton is put through a “mechanical recycling process that is free from bleaching, chemical treatments, or regeneration”. If you are wondering what mechanical recycling is, do not worry, so was I when researching for this article. Mechanical recycling is the process of rejuvenating materials by physically breaking down textile materials into their basic fibres, and then processing them into new yarns.
Ventile’s recycled cotton, collected from three countries, primarily Turkey, is not finished to look like other recycled materials. Ventile’s focus is on making premium looking and feeling recycled materials. As someone who is relatively new to the fashion-scene I continue to be amazed at how poorly made materials can be, and it is often these materials that have the worst environmental impact. I am also constantly amazed at how much material waste us Britons produce; approximately 350,000 tonnes of clothing waste are sent to landfills every year in the UK. Companies like Ventile, which are collecting discarded cotton to recycle, are doing some of the most important work in the fashion industry; we do not need more fabric, but instead can repurpose already existing fabric. A shocking statistic to cement the importance of recycled clothing is that, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign, roughly 100 billion items of clothing are made per year globally. 100 billion. Let that number sink in. That is equivalent to 14 items per person.
What is particularly special about Ventile Fabrics is their involvement in organic farming; the company does not simply find existing organic farms to source their fibres from, but they actively support farms in becoming biodynamic. In 2023 the company partnered with the Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA) to support Egyptian farmers apply biodynamic cotton farming methods. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion in 2024, Daniel Odermatt said: “When EBDA reached out to us we were impressed by the amazing work they do in Egypt and so, in early 2023, we combined our efforts to support two farms as they transition from conventional cotton growing into biodynamic methods.”
Odermatt added: “Biodynamic farming treats the farm as a living organism, emphasising soil regeneration, biodiversity, and ecological balance. Unlike conventionally grown organic cotton, which primarily avoids synthetic inputs, biodynamic cotton relies on crop rotation, intercropping, composting, and natural pest management to actively improve soil fertility and enhance microbial life.”
Ventile Fabrics are used by many household name brands which are trying to reduce their environmental impact, including Barbour, Le Coq Sportif, Cadot Paris, Clarks, and Claymore, just to name a few. Below is an image of a Barbour jacket made in the 1990’s using Ventile cotton, shared by a vintage store in Sheffield named ragparadesheffield.
Barbour Jacket made from Ventile cotton 1990. Image Credit: Instagram @ragparadesheffield
A material produced by Ventile that intrigued me is their cotton and hemp blend. Named ECO 205, the blend boasts “unrivalled breathability, strength, and natural water resistance.” I am personally yet to buy an item of clothing made from hemp, but the fabric does seem to be the future of sustainable clothing (despite it’s existing for millennia). Hemp fabric is made from fibres extracted from the stalk of a Cannabis sativa plant. These fibres are extremely tensile and durable, and have a similar feel to linen. The Cannabis sativa plant is a great renewable source as the plant grows quickly, and it can produce around 200% more fibre than cotton on the same amount of land. Another great benefit of Hemp is that the plant returns 60% of the minerals it consumes as it grows, meaning that the same soil can be used for decades. Cotton on the other hand depletes the soil of minerals, and therefore the soil must be replaced every few years. Ventile’s hemp blend, released in 2020, consists of 32% hemp fibre and 68% organic cotton.
I think it is important that I do not gloss over the elephant in the room that I am sure everyone reading this is wondering about. Costs. Whilst there are no prices of the fabrics advertised on Ventile’s website, I think it is fair to say that the cost of producing sustainable materials will definitely mean a higher cost for customers. It is difficult to create an exact number when calculating the cost of producing hemp fabric as each manufacturer will have slightly varying processes, however according to GroCycle, on average a tonne of hemp fibre costs around $250 (£182). Weirdly, this is actually a lot cheaper than how much it costs for a tonne of cotton fibre, averaging at around $1000 (£729), and sometimes reaching triple this during drought seasons. Despite this, hemp fabrics cost more for consumers due to its smaller-scale market, lower amount of cultivation, and the costs of its specialised processing. Regarding the costs of producing organic cotton, at this moment in time the process will have higher costs due to the lack of existing organic farms. Hopefully over the coming years more companies like Ventile will invest into supporting farms adopt organic farming methods, but until then the cost of making the move to organic cotton farming will unfortunately be partly placed onto the customer.
Looking to the future, I asked Ventile Fabrics what projects they are currently working on. Daniel Odermatt told me that they want to continue to grow their Eco recycled materials, and that “footwear is an area where we are seeing an increase in enquiries.” I am curious to see how Ventile would incorporate their work into footwear, and it is definitely a market that needs more eco-conscious routines. Brands such as Dr Marten’s, Crocs and Viron are working towards making lifelong-lasting footwear made from sustainable and environmentally-friendly materials, however there is still a long way to go to limit plastic use in shoes, and to make the production process less carbon heavy. If anyone could tackle these issues it would be the historic Ventile.
