What is Hemp Fabric and is it a Sustainable Material?

What is Hemp Fabric and is it a Sustainable Material?

If you’ve started looking into natural and sustainable clothing, you’ve probably come across hemp as an alternative to cotton and other common fabrics.

While it’s been troubled by its association with marijuana and sometimes makes people think of brown, baggy clothing, hemp fabric has been picking up steam lately, and for good reason. It’s a uniquely sustainable fabric with plenty of other benefits, such as high durability and UV protection.

What is Hemp Fabric?

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Hemp fabric is a natural material made from, well, hemp! Hemp, also known by its scientific name Cannabis sativa, is one of the oldest fibers around. We’ve been using it for at least 50,000 years!

If the words Cannabis sativa make you think of marijuana instead of sustainable clothing, you’re not on the wrong track. Hemp and marijuana are two words for the exact same plant, although the kind we use for clothing usually has very little THC (that’s the chemical that gets you high).

Hemp has tons of great selling points. For one, it’s incredibly durable. There’s a reason it’s been a popular material for ropes and sails on ships for millennia. It’s just that strong.

It’s also a perfect fabric all year round. It’s a great insulator, which keeps you warm in the winter, but is also breathable, which keeps you comfortable in the summer.

Best of all, hemp is one of the most sustainable fabrics out there. It’s all-natural, super easy to grow, doesn’t need herbicides, and is even great at storing carbon.

Pure hemp has a texture similar to linen but is known to be a bit tougher than other fabrics. It’s far from uncomfortable, but it’s commonly mixed with other fabrics to improve how it feels.

While hemp fabric has been extremely common throughout history, in modern times, it’s a bit rarer. While you’re not going to get much out of smoking a hemp t-shirt, its connection to marijuana has had some serious effects on modern hemp production.

The fact is, any hemp plant will have some THC in it, even if it’s just a small amount. That means growing it is very heavily regulated in most countries. In fact, hemp production was illegal in the UK until 1993, and was virtually banned in the United States all the way up to 2018.

Even now, hemp growers in many countries require expensive licenses to set up shop, and production is still pretty limited around the world.

What is Hemp Fabric Made From?

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Hemp fabric is made from the stalk of the hemp plant. Unfortunately, its production process isn’t quite as streamlined as a fabric like cotton since it’s only started to be grown in industrialized countries in the last few decades.

After hemp is harvested, the first step is to remove the hemp fibers from the rest of the plant. This usually involves “retting,” which is when a plant is allowed to decompose a bit to make it easier to pull apart.

Hemp is often dew-retted, which means it’s just left on a field for a few weeks until it’s processed. However, some hemp is water-retted, which means each stalk is submerged in water. Water-retted hemp uses a lot of fresh water, which ends up contaminated with harmful chemicals, making water-retted hemp less sustainable than dew-retted hemp.

After retting, the hemp fibers are removed from the plant and are then spun into fabric, which is often dyed and is then ready for use.

Hemp Fabric Versus Cotton Fabric

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When it comes to sustainability, hemp is better than cotton in almost every way.

Hemp grows quickly and densely, which means it takes less land to produce the same amount of fabric. Compared to hemp, cotton takes up twice as much space to grow.

Another big point in hemp’s favor is how much water it uses. Hemp takes roughly two-thirds as much water to grow as cotton does. When many regions are being threatened with widespread drought, that’s a pretty significant difference.

Finally, hemp clothing is strong and long-lasting and has the potential to last decades longer than cotton does. And the more durable your clothing, the less clothing you have to buy. That’s a big offset in the long run.

As a bonus, hemp fabric is just lighter, less absorbing, and better at protecting you from UV. It also doesn’t shrink in the wash, which is a huge improvement over cotton.

The downside to hemp fabric is that it does use more energy to produce than cotton, which almost certainly means higher CO2 emissions. It also tends to cost more than cotton since it’s a lot less common. Finally, cotton is a bit softer than hemp, which can be a big factor for some people.

Overall, hemp clearly wins out over cotton when it comes to sustainability and practicality. The price and comfort issues can be offset by mixing hemp with other fabrics, which is very common, but there’s no guarantee those fabrics will be nearly as sustainable as hemp is.

Is Hemp Fabric Sustainable?

As far as sustainable fabrics go, hemp is one of your best options! There’s a lot to love about hemp, even if it’s not perfect.

There’s a reason we call these plants “Weeds,” and that’s because they grow like them! Hemp is a tall, fast-growing plant that can be packed together to the point where they block enough sunlight to kill any plants growing beneath them.

This means hemp doesn’t require any herbicides since they’ll kill any weeds around them themselves. Hemp also naturally replenishes soil nutrients and cleans the ground of toxins as it grows.

Hemp is also an excellent carbon sink. A hemp field can absorb more CO2 from the air than a forest, which means hemp isn’t just carbon neutral, it can actually be carbon negative.

This doesn’t mean all hemp is the same, though. You’ll still want to make sure you’re buying from an organic brand, if possible because some hemp growers overuse environmentally damaging fertilizer.

Pros and Cons of Hemp Fabric

Pros

• Hemp fabric is one of the most sustainable fabrics out there.
• Hemp is lightweight, breathable, and durable. That makes it a comfortable choice for all weather, and it makes clothing that lasts.
• Hemp is partially hydrophobic and naturally antimicrobial, which means it doesn’t get as dirty when you wear it. This makes it great for athletic wear and for people with sensitive skin.
• As a final benefit, hemp doesn’t shrink. Unlike cotton, hemp won’t change shape in the wash, no matter how many times you wear it.

Cons

• Hemp’s biggest downside is the cost. It’s just not as common as a fabric like cotton and is relatively new to the market, and that means it comes with a higher price tag.
• Hemp can be very soft, but it’s usually considered a rougher fabric. This means it’s often mixed with other fibers, which can make the end product less sustainable. And if it’s mixed with synthetic fibers, your hemp clothing may not even be biodegradable.

Final Thoughts on Hemp Fabric

Hemp fabric is almost a miracle. It’s incredibly sustainable, super durable, and pretty comfortable too. Hemp is a great choice almost every time.

The only reasons you might not choose hemp fabric are the slightly higher price point and the slightly rougher texture. But if you’re looking for sustainable clothing, hemp really is one of the best options out there.