Clothing
Hemp Clothing
Hemp is known as the strongest fiber; over twice as strong as cotton. Hemp fiber is the most durable of all natural textile fibers. Products made from hemp will outlast their competition by many years. Not only is hemp strong, but it also holds its shape, stretching less than any other natural fiber. This prevents hemp garments from stretching out or becoming distorted with use. Apparel made from hemp will likely last longer and withstand harsh conditions. Due to the porous nature of the fiber, hemp is more water absorbent, and will dye and retain its color better than any other fabric including cotton. This porous nature allows hemp to “breathe,” so that it is cool in warm weather. Conversely, air which is trapped in the fibers is warmed by the body, making hemp garments naturally warm in cooler weather.
Hemp fabrics soften and improve with washing, like linen. Simple washing improves the fabric, softening it, filling in gaps and adding smoothness and luster. Hemp will become more beautiful and lustrous with washing .
Hemp is the rarest of fibers: new, natural, and luxurious. Its surface reflects light with a subtle luster. Its warm tone and the pattern of its texture have the elegance of refined rusticity. It is simply beautiful. Now hemp fabric has created, for the first time, a luxurious feel and drape that’s a pleasure to feel against the skin.
Compared to Cotton
Environmentally, hemp is a safer crop to grow than cotton. Cotton is a soil-damaging crop and needs a great deal of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.[xliii]
Cotton crops in the USA occupy 1% of the country’s farmland but use 50% of all pesticides. [xliv] “The pesticides used on cotton, whether in the U.S. or oversees, are some of the most hazardous available today,” says Doug Murray, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at Colorado State University who has studied pesticide use on cotton overseas. Source.
1 acre of hemp will produce as much as 2-3 acres of cotton.[xlv]
Hemp is 4 times warmer than cotton, 4 times more water absorbent, has 3 times the tensile strength of cotton. It is also many times more durable and is flame retardant.[xlvi]
Many high fashion clothing manufacturers have produced clothes and footwear made with hemp. Some of these include: Nike, Converse, Armani, Patagonia, Polo Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta and many more.[xlvii]
Hemp fabrics were once far more expensive than cotton and other fabrics due to limited supply, but increased demand and availability in recent years have lowered the price considerably. [xlviii]
Hemp breathes well and wicks moisture away from the body better than cotton. [xlix]
HT Naturals (Canada’s largest hemp t-shirt supplier) asserts that selecting their hemp/cotton blended t-shirt over an all-cotton t-shirt saves the environment 744 gallons of water. This company has recently partnered with Canada’s National Research Council to create Crailar an enzyme that will make hemp fibres as soft as cotton.[l]