Hemp as a fabric… impossible? Absolutely not. Now, what is hemp fiber and how is it as a fabric? Known as the strongest and most durable among the other known nature-friendly fibers, hemp is absolutely admired by many clothing manufacturers, designers and wearers due to its great characteristics. This great fabric possesses the lowest elongation percentage among all the other natural fibers. It is also known as an eco-friendly crop, because growing them doesn’t require any pesticides. The plants only need a little water and it also grows in areas with moderate temperature. According to Columbia history, hemp is considered as the oldest fabric, discovered in tombs way back 8,000 B.C. In addition, Levi Strauss (a German-Jewish US immigrant who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans) utilized hemp fabric as lightweight duck canvas and created the first pair of jeans.
Its cellulose fiber is used to make products like ropes, canvass, skin care products, hats, bags, jeans, paper, custom made shirts and dresses. Moreover, in the 1920’s, 80% of clothing was made from hemp fabrics. Furthermore, hemp fabric is naturally suitable to people who have chemical sensitivities since it is grown without pesticides and herbicides. Hemp fabric is loved by most designers because of the following characteristics: mildew-resistant, and absorptive, among others. Moreover, the hemp fiber will help to keep you cooler during summer, while you will feel warmer during winter. In addition, it is good for dress shirts since it has the ability to sieve UV rays, so it is less prone to fading than other fabrics.
Hemp is a very flexible fabric and this can be created into a diversity of products, aside from just plain fabrics. Furthermore, when blended with other fabrics such as linen, silk and cotton, among others, it gives more strenght to the final product, and what’s good is, it keeps the softness of the material and allows it to be created into new fashion designs. Shirts made from hemp will surely gives you comfort.
