Hemp Making Waves In The Fashion Industry

At Rooted Hemp, we are committed to creating quality products responsibly and sustainably. We are firm believers that products made this way create a win-win-win scenario. Our customers, our company, and the environment all receive and share in the value of sustainably-harvested hemp. With more calls for other industries to work towards sustainability and zero-carbon footprints, it’s no surprise to us that the hemp plant is used in the manufacture of over 25,000 different products to date. At the forefront of this movement towards hemp-based items is the fashion industry.

Hemp is sustainable

The traditional textile and clothing manufacturing industry accounts for nearly 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions. This is thanks to its massive, global supply chain and intense amount of energy production. In a report released by the UN: the fashion industry today requires more energy than aviation and shipping combined! Polyester, nylon, rayon, and other synthetic fabrics need a huge infrastructure to manufacture. That says nothing about the cotton industry, which also is an enormous consumer of natural resources which cause drought, deforestation, and other exploitative practices. Sustainably created, hemp-based clothing requires a fraction of the resources required to make the exact same items. Better yet, the quality exceeds other fabrics, and companies can produce the same garments from a much cheaper material. With no chemicals involved in their creation, hemp-based clothing is actually healthier to wear and is a far more ethical (and comfortable) solution to traditionally-made, mass-produced clothing.

Hemp fashion is the future

Many fashion brands are embracing hemp as the core ingredient for their entire catalogs. Environment-sensitive customers are eager to buy clothing they know is healthier for their bodies, and have a clearer conscious about where their garments came from. Companies and their customers may enjoy the novelty of offering hemp-based clothing as exciting and chic in addition to the ethical reasons we’ve already laid out. As decades pass hemp becomes more commonly used by the fashion industry. There can be no denying that the use of hemp in the fashion industry extends far beyond a fun and unique alternative to traditionally-made clothing. The fashion industry is laying the groundwork for becoming extremely sustainable. Future fashion professionals may one day take for granted how common hemp is used in their products. Check out the Rooted Hemp apparel: made from hemp!

Why Hemp?

The hemp plant is an incredible little thing, and its value extends far beyond alternative healthcare and recreational cannabis. In fact, it was one of the first plants used by humans as a textile. That changed during the prohibition era, but as laws around industrial hemp have once again started to ease, the return of hemp to the fashion industry has enjoyed steadily increasing momentum. Specifically, the US Farm Bill of 2014 opened the doors to new research and development around the use of hemp. When hemp derivatives became fully legal under the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, the floodgates for new hemp-based ventures blew wide open. Today, industrial hemp (hemp plants with THC content of .03 percent or less) are rapidly increasing through industries where sustainability is a priority.

China, currently the largest producer of industrial hemp, followed by the US, the UK, and other parts of Europe.Hemp plants need little water to grow (half as much as cotton plants), do not need pesticides, and its long roots prevent soil erosion. These factors make hemp a wonderful plant as the soil renews with each growth cycle. Additionally, the hemp plant is extremely efficient. The production process wastes virtually nothing. Seeds are harvested for oil and food applications. The stalks, are of course harvested for its amazing fiber. Many organizations have been established to promote the use of hemp, such as the Hemp Foundation. The Hemp Foundation is a key player in evangelizing for the use of hemp textiles for use in apparel.

Hemp: the future of textiles

It is exciting to see what other amazing uses humans discover for industrial hemp. We are equally excited that industries around the world are embracing the invaluable and sustainable nature of the hemp plant. Humans have enjoyed using hemp for nearly 10,000 years. It is possible that modern man has barely scratched the surface of discovering the positive impact the hemp plant can have on our civilization and our planet.