What is hemp?
Hemp fabric is made from the stem of the Cannibis Sativa plant. It has been, up until the twentieth century, the most widely used fabric in the world.

• 90% of all sail ships from 5th Century BC have been made of hemp
• 80% of all mankinds' textiles and fabrics for clothes, tents, linens, rugs, drapes, quilts, bed sheets, towels and nappies etc. have been made from cannibis hemp
• Canvas, rope, cargo nets, flags, shrouds and oakum were also tradtionally made from hemp.
• The original Levi jeans were made from hemp cloth.

Hemp is also widely used for the manufacture of paper. Hemp paper lasts 50 to 100 times longer than the paper made from papyrus - and it is 100 times easier and cheaper to make!

Hemp as a fibre.
Hemp is natures longest, strongest, most durable fibre. As a fabric it is softer, more insulating, more absorbent, more breathable, and longer lasting than cotton. Hemp fabric is woven and spun from the best fibres surrounding the outside of the stem of the Cannibis Sativa plant. Hemp is a very eco-friendly product because of its deep tap root.
This deep tap root means the plant:

• requires very little watering
• helps to stabilize & condition the soil
• requires few pesticides - it's natural 'spicey' oils act as a deterent to bugs and insects
• requires few fertilizers as it is a tough herbaceous plant. (It's a weed!)

Hemp is an excellent alternative to cotton because of these eco-friendly properties - the plant itself is very durable and cotton is very vulnerable.

Because of the marijuana laws in the western world, it will be quite some time before the widespread industrial/commercial growth of the crop will be utilised. One acre of hemp produces as much paper as 4.1 acres of trees. Hemp is naturally archival quality and can be safely bleached using hydrogen peroxide. The first paper was made from hemp. Anything that can be made out of wood or plastic can be made from hemp, and is biodegradable.

Most of the hemp fabric is grown and manufactured in Nepal, China and Eastern Europe. The manufacture of the cloth is a very eco-friendly process.