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Have you ever stopped to think about just what exactly your clothing is made of? If you are like me, you’ve gone years without giving it a second thought.
It wasn’t until I starting getting into natural living that I thought about clothing material. However, the farthest I had thought was about synthetic vs natural fibers. It was easy enough for me to jump to the idea of synthetic fibers equal bad, natural fibers equal good.
However, I hadn’t taken the time to look into what options there are in the natural fiber category and if there were and pros or cons to certain natural materials.
A few months ago I began looking into the reasons to choose organic cotton clothing and realize there is so much more to choosing your clothing fabric than just opting for the natural stuff! Your clothing choice goes beyond just which type of fabric you want against your skin!
As I’ve been looking more into natural clothing options, I’ve come across hemp. Hemp, I’ll admit I was a bit standoffish with… partly because it seems like the crazy super hippy material and partly because I assumed hemp meant marijuana.
What Is Hemp?
Hemp is a natural fiber that has been used for centuries. It’s been used for ropes, paper, cloth for ages. Made from the cannabis plant, hemp is a very strong, all natural fiber.
Hemp is not Marijuana
If you are like me you just sort of assumed that all cannabis was marijuana… but that’s not the case. Hemp and marijuana are both of the cannabis plant species but the type of cannabis that is grown and used for marijuana is the varieties that produce high levels of THC (the part that is needed for the psychoactive properties).
The cannabis species that is used for growing hemp (to be using in hemp fiber, hemp milk, hemp seeds, hemp oil) are types that produce trace levels of THC. This is an important fact to remember about hemp just in case you are worried that you might get high off hemp milk or fear you are supporting marijuana by buying hemp clothing. It’s just not the case; hemp and marijuana are two different things.
Reasons to Choose Hemp Clothing
No Pesticides Needed
Hemp requires no pesticides to grow. Hemp is a very hardy and resilient plant that just doesn’t need pesticides to help it survives pests or weeds. So even if you aren’t buying organic hemp, you are still likely buying pesticide free hemp.
Requires Little Water
Hemp is grown very close together and doesn’t need much in the way of water compared to other fiber producing plants. Less water growing crops means more water for the rest of the world.
Helps Clean the Environment
Usually with things like this you find ways that something doesn’t contribute to harming the environment but it’s rather rare to find a material that will actually clean up the environment and that’s what hemp can do!
Hemp is a phyto-remediative plant which basically means it can help clean the environment. Hemp can remove toxins from the soil and it can consume more CO2 than trees which helps clean our air.
High Production Rate
Did you know that one acre of hemp can produce 2-3 times as much fiber as an acre of cotton can? That’s pretty impressive. Not that I don’t love cotton for my clothing but it’s always good to diversify our materials.
Great for Clothing
Hemp is a very breathable fabric and very moisture absorbent. On top of that, hemp provides some UPF protection and is antimicrobial.
Hemp is also one of the strongest fibers out there making it a great long lasting material for clothing. However, don’t let it’s strength trick you into thinking that it’s a rough fabric; hemp is actually a very comfortable fabric to wear against your skin!
Where to Buy Hemp Clothing
After reading all these amazing reasons to choose hemp clothing, it’s time to start actually making the change! Hemp is gaining popularity in the clothing world but it can still be difficult to find brands that actually use hemp.
I’ve fallen in love with prAna for clothing made with hemp. They are a company committed to sustainability so even if the clothing isn’t 100% hemp, you know that the other materials prAna uses will be sustainable (like organic cotton)
prAna wants all of you to have the opportunity to try out there great clothing line (especially their products made with hemp!) that they’ve provided me with a coupon code so that you can get 15% off your purchase! Just used code: PHBT18 while checking out on prAna’s site.
FTC DISCLOSURE: The Pistachio Project, may receive monetary compensation for my endorsement, recommendation, reviews and/or link to any products or services from this article. However, I only recommend products or services I feel are up to my standards.
