Why we use Hemp

Modern technology can make hemp the most practical environmentally sensible textile on the planet.

Although Hemp has an attractive natural cream colour, it takes dyes well due to its superior absorbent properties. This absorbency, along with its natural antiseptic character, makes it an ideal material for towels, nappies, hospital linen and children’s clothing. 

Little or no pesticides are needed to grow this rapidly renewable crop, so it is easier to grow organic, poison free fabric. It naturally protects us from up to 95% of harmful UV rays, resists mildew, bacteria, moths and silverfish, absorbs perspiration and is naturally warmer in winter and cooler in summer. 

The quality of the fibre obtained from the hemp plant is what makes it outstanding against other natural fibres. Due to its length, (each fibre is as long as the plant itself, up to five meters), it can be spun into very durable material. Put the length of a hemp fibre up against that of cotton (a mere 20mm) and you can understand how its strength is far more superior. This gives hemp up to eight times the tensile strength and four times the durability of cotton. Hemp can be used to make a soft silk-like fibre or the strongest ropes. It blends easily with other textiles to create a very soft & durable fabric that feels good when worn.

Sleeping in hemp is as comfortable as the finest of linens.

Hemp clothing is one of the oldest utilized textiles in history. Between 4000 BC and 200 AD, hemp was used extensively along with silk as one of the two major textiles in the Chinese empire.

Cloth dating back to 8000 BC has been uncovered in Mesopotamia, the region considered to be the cradle of civilization. Throughout Asia, Europe and even the Americas, evidence of the use of this plant for clothing and cloth have been found, often revealing this resource as being highly revered by many cultures.

Is hemp related to Marijuana?

It does not have the ‘uplifting’ powers of it’s infamous cousin.  The chemical in the cannabis plant that gives a person a stoned effect is a cannabinoid named tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

There is another cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD) also found in Cannabis, which acts to block the effects of THC on the human nervous system. Commercially grown Hemp has extremely low levels of THC and high levels of CBD, so to smoke industrial Hemp would get a person un-stoned!

Hemp is clean, both for the environment and the user. It is a resource that we can no longer afford to overlook.