Textiles
Hemp bast is stronger than cotton, less thirsty, less pesticide-hungry. Hemp tensile strength of ~550–900 MPa is roughly three times cotton. Water footprint per kilo of fibre about 2,123 L vs ~10,000 for conventional cotton (SEI/WWF 1999, updated 2005). The category mainstreamed once cottonisation made the fibre soft enough for denim.
Levi's WellThread
The 2019 launch of Levi's cottonised-hemp 511 and 502 fits broke the perception that hemp apparel had to be coarse hippy-wear. Bast Fibre Technologies' enzymatic-mechanical process gave hemp the hand of cotton. Still in line, distributed in 50+ countries.
USA · 2019 · with Bast Fibre Technologies
Patagonia
Patagonia's Hemp Collection — workwear, Iron Forge canvas, hemp/recycled-poly/organic-cotton blends. Sourced primarily through China. Fair Labor certified supply chain. The category's loudest US advocate after Levi's.
Iron Forge Hemp Canvas
HempAge
One of the oldest pure-hemp apparel brands in Europe. B-Corp certified. OEKO-TEX 100. Shirts, trousers, knits, undyed and dyed. The German durable working-wardrobe end of the category, distributed across Europe.
Germany · Bavaria · founded 1995
What it isn't
Hemp textiles use much less water than cotton. They do not use zero water. A hemp shirt is rarely 100% hemp; it is usually a blend. 'Naturally antibacterial' is laboratory truth that has not consistently survived dermatology trials. Honest claims still sell.
Hemp uses less water — not zero.
How can we hemp you?
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