Hemp Fabric
Have you ever seen hemp fabric in a clothing store? Have you ever purchased hemp fabric? When hemp fibres are spun into threads and then woven into sheets, it makes very durable fabric. Hemp fabric is around 3 times the tensile strength and flexibility of cotton. This sustainable fabric will last you longer than cotton, which helps your wallet and the environment!
Impact Benefits
Hemp fabric clothing is one way that you can help reduce your impact on the environment. Hemp fabric is very durable and is not partial to any colours or types of dye. Industrial hemp requires a fraction of land, water and energy to produce compared to conventional or organic cotton. It is also naturally resistant to fungus, bugs and pests. Therefore the crop doesn’t necessarily need pesticides or fungicides, making it ideal for those with sensitive skin.
From the planting of the seed in the soil, all the way to the end product, hemp is a very energy-efficient and resource-efficient crop to grow, harvest, and process.
As it turns out, cotton is actually quite a thirsty crop to grow. It also usually requires pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to grow a healthy crop for a profitable harvest.
History
Did you know that for millennia, people have been using hemp? The first account of hemp fabric that we know is from 50,000 years ago in China. It is very efficient in its use as clothing. No wonder it has been used for such a long time. Hemp is such a valuable plant and very practical. The plant was mainly used industrially and commercially as rope, paper, sails and canvas. It is still used today for those reasons and many other uses for the plant. We use hemp to make so many lovely items we use daily, from bags to wallets, hats, jackets, hoodies and sweaters, belts, pants, undergarments, socks and shoes. It is incredible how diverse its use is.
We need to put hemp on the main stage to replace most of the cotton clothing – it makes up less than 0.1% of the global fibre market. Hemp rarely ever needs treatment of pesticides or fungicides since it is such a resilient plant.
Want it for yourself or want to do it yourself?
There are several hemp fabric wholesalers online, as well as retail shops (physical and online), usually made into an item from the retail shop.
When you buy an already-made item from a retail shop, expect to spend a few extra dollars since hemp isn’t quite at the same scale as cotton in terms of demand yet. However, the more popular it becomes, the prices should eventually go down. It is worth it even still since purchasing the item will last much longer than any fast fashion items you could have bought instead.
There’s this online retailer that I like. It’s called Rawganique. They carry just about everything you need in your eco-conscious home. When you go travelling, you’ll want to have a small bag with you. This one would be perfect, it is so cute! The 3-in-1 convertible waist pouch.
Want to do it yourself? Here’s a video to give you an idea of 1 way that the stalk can go from the stalk to the fibre used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPXvsJ6BmiM
Video: How we process hemp fibre at our farm by Obelisk Farm, 2:48
There are many different methods of processing. Methods include using chemicals to break it down or physically processing it, as shown in the video. There are machines that can do the work for you, such as a decorticator. I will be doing my next post on that.
I hope you enjoyed this short read, stay tuned for a new post coming soon on another hemp technology!
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