What is hemp?
Hemp is a fast-growing plant made from stem fibres of the Cannabis Sativa plant. As mentioned before, it is part of the marijuana family. The plant, however, contains very low levels of THC, and your hemp tees are, therefore, not fit to be rolled into a joint.
Hemp is a natural bast fibre, similar to fibres from flax and jute. This bast fibre can be found in the outer layer of the plant’s stem. The end product feels similar to the texture of linen fabric. Hemp fabric doesn’t shrink and is very durable in quality. It is also characterised by breathability, which can be especially nice in warmer climates.
Why do we use hemp fabric?
The first reason we use hemp in our pure goods is that it doesn’t need any pesticides to grow. Because it is such a fast and densely growing plant, hemp is almost like those competing weeds in your garden: hemp chokes out other plants. Hemp takes away other plants’ moments to shine by growing faster and taller than the others. Hemp is also naturally pest-resistant. No sicknesses or insects can get him down!
There are also benefits for nature. Hemp helps capture carbon from the air faster than trees and most other plants. Hemp also grows in low-nutrient areas and gives back nutrients to the soil. They're perfect for crop rotation but can also be grown season after season! Producing more hemp instead of cotton for clothing could help lower carbon emissions!
Because hemp is such a fast grower, it uses less land and water than other crops like cotton or trees. Hemp just needs around 100 days to produce the same amount of fibre that a tree produces in 50 to 100 years. It will be about 6 meters high when it is ready to harvest. These long fibres give the fabric its natural strength. The longer the fibre is, the stronger the yarn will be. Therefore, hemp is very durable. It blends pretty easily with other textile fibres to improve the durability of a garment.