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What Largely Replaced Cotton In WW1 Military Uniforms?

Archaeological evidence tells us it has been employed for thousands of years in Europe making cloth, fishing nets, & twine. Austria & Germany lacked sources of cotton after an economic blockade surrounded them. Science research found a solution. Without systematic production Germany collected 1,413 tons of the new fiber in 1915 & 2,976 in 1917. The British captured two such uniforms in 1917 and were surprized. What did English analysis reveal? Clue: On a related subject what event occurs on annual basis at The Bottle Club, a pub in Marshwood, Dorset, England?

Public Comments

1. I'm guessing: Silk
2. I knew about the nettle eating contest but had no idea this plant could be used for textile fiber! Wow. Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. If it was used in WWI - why is it still considered experimental?
3. I was under the Impression that WOOL was more Prevalent in Military Uniforms of the Late 19th-Early 20th Centuries. Other than Tropical uniforms for Von Lettow-Vorbeck in East Afrika and Neck Stocks, Underwear where was tremendous amounts of Cotton used in the Imperial German Army?
4. The German uniforms included fibre made from nettles. The event you refer to is the nettle eating contest