Is hemp worth the hype?

Written By Wimbly Stoke

Many companies based in the US and around the world have been touting the usage of Hemp in their fabrics, an environmentally friendly powerhouse. One of our companies, prAna reported that 9% of their spring collection in 2024 used Hemp, and that they will continue to grow that percentage. Other Companies offer customers the ability to sort their online store for products made with hemp, like Solewa and Patagonia.

But how good is hemp?

Benefits of hemp-based fabric are:

  • Odor reducing: Hemp fibers naturally inhibit bacterial growth which keeps odors at bay

  • Breathable & thermo-conductive: similar to wool, you stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter

  • Durable: Stays very strong and lasts for long-term wear (Patagonia’s tough workwear line, Iron Forge Hemp™, uses hemp fabric)

  • Comfortability… seriously nice, it’s worth a try!

As a plant resource and raw material, hemp:

  • requires half as much water as cotton* to grow

  • grows very quickly, in comparison to growing cotton or shearing wool

  • requires very little-to-no pesticides because it has few natural predators

  • is a plant with a deep tap root, which prevents erosion and need little-to-no fertilizers

Perhaps said best by Patagonia:

“Hemp is a natural fiber that can be cultivated with minimal impact on the environment. It needs little to no irrigation and uses less fertilizer than other crops (and does not require synthetic fertilizer).” - https://www.patagonia.com/our-footprint/hemp.html

So this all sounds good…what’s the downside of hemp fabric?

Because hemp was criminalized for many years throughout North & Central America and parts of Europe, most hemp production (and the knowledge of how to grow and harvest it on a large scale) remained in China, which increases the carbon footprint of shipping the raw material.

While our companies maintain relationships with their farms in China to grow ethically and organically, just as they do in other parts of the world, it’s simply a long way to ship raw materials and/or fabrics.

Moving forward, many companies are trying to bring hemp growing practices closer to their sewers and fabricators. One of our companies, Solewa, based in the Italian Alps, would like to reintroduce the production of Alpine Hemp, which was common until the 1960’s.

Another downside: although hemp produces less waste than other raw materials, there is a woody stalk at the center that is not used for the fabric process. Patagonia, for example, tries to work with farms who’s woody-stalk is used in other “bio-composite applications, from “hempcrete” construction to auto-body fabrication.”*

Better than others, still not perfect.

To us at the Trail House®, hemp remains as an environmentally positive influence on the textile industry, and a very comfortable and durable fabric! It’s not perfect, although we’re encouraged by the steps taken by our brands to continually research and test new ways to improve it.

*Online resources consulted on October 7th, 2024:

Wimbly Stoke https://wimblystoke.com
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