Clothing

Description:

Hemp clothing helps protect skin from UV light, resists bacterial growth and four times stronger than cotton.

How it’s Made:

The long strands of fibre that make up the stalk of the hemp plant is used to make hemp fabric. “Retting” is the process wherein the fibers of the hemp plant are separated from the bark. The fibers are then whirled together to produce a continuous thread that can be woven into a fabric.⁽¹⁾

Advantages:

Clothing made of hemp is absorbent with tensile strength three times that of cotton. Hemp is also excellent outdoor wear and UV and mold-resistant.⁽²⁾

Disadvantages:

Hemp wrinkles easily and is not colorfast so it does not give a rich color on the fabric.⁽³⁾

History:

Hemp fabric has developed a lot ever since it started 10,000 years ago. Remnants of hemp cloth was found in Iraq that had been spun around 8000 BC.⁽⁴⁾

Looking to the Future:

The possibility for hemp fabrics are immense in the future. Hemp having a vast potential to be produced cheaply, it will eventually supersede cotton, linen and polyester.⁽⁵⁾