When people today think of hemp one of their first thoughts is of illegal drugs. This is really a crying shame because hemp is one of the most environmentally friendly and useful materials found in nature. Hemp started booming in the eighteenth century for naval and colonial expansion, being used mainly in the construction of boats, sails, and rope. Later it was also used for military uniforms, parachute webbing, and even biodegradable plastics. In 1791, President George Washington of the United States even urged farmers to grow more hemp instead of growing tobacco, quoted in writing to his own gardener to “Make the most you can of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere.”

Luckily hemp has seen a recovery as more and more people rediscover its variety of uses. From jewelry, furnishing, and paper, to body products and increasingly in the construction industry, hemp is definitely seeing a revival as of late. Of course, the most obvious use of hemp is for textiles and clothing and the textile industry is rapidly picking up on how cost effective hemp is to produce.

Being classified as an eco textile also means that hemp will require less energy and less pesticides to grow, boasting that one acre of hemp will produce as much fiber as 2-3 acres of cotton. It also produces less carbon and therefore creates less pollution than other forms of fabric manufacturing. These reasons alone are a great reason for the textile industry to start looking at hemp clothing in a big way.

Fortunately for us it’s becoming progressively easier to side with eco friendly fashion without feeling like a brown bag. Hemp is still coarser than cotton but it can be blended with organic cottons and silks to give it that extra softness so that it can be used comfortably in a variety of clothes. Such things as jeans, t-shirts, socks, and shoes made out of hemp and a blend of organic cotton or bamboo make for a long-lasting and fashionable addition to your wardrobe that can be enjoyed for years to come.

Hemp clothing is also far more absorbent and three times stronger than cotton fibers which makes hemp a great eco friendly alternative for babies and infants. The absorbency also means that dyes are more effective and less likely to fade over time. Hemp is also great in warm weather as tests have shown that hemp material with a close weave repels up to 95% of U.V. rays while other materials, such as cotton which only repels around 30% . Because hemp is porous it will also keep you cool in the winter, while its insulation properties will keep you warm in the winter.

Hemp really has a lot going for it: it’s great for the environment because it doesn’t require as much energy as most other crops and it doesn’t require pesticides which as we all know can be very toxic and will generally lessen the quality of any fabric made from a crop. It’s also stronger and more absorbent, but still breathable and insulating at the same time so it will keep you warm in the winter but cool in the summer.