Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Hemp has been making a lot of noise lately, especially with the growing awareness surrounding the use of hemp oil for treating cancer. Although the word ‘hemp’ still often gets confused and lumped into the same definition as Cannabis, a similar but psychoactive plant, it’s important to realize hemp can be a major game changer for our world if used to its potential. As we go through this post, you will be wondering ‘why don’t we use this stuff all the time.. for everything?!’ Simple answer, farming hemp was banned in the US and other countries in the 1937 because of the threat it caused to certain companies and their businesses. More about that here.

Although hemp has many practical uses, let’s focus on one that would affect us every day; clothing. For this, we will compare hemp to cotton, as cotton is a very popular resource used in clothing production. We’ll need to focus on various areas that have to be taken into consideration when comparing the two so we can determine not only what is better for us, but also what is best for our environment as it’s important to view things holistically. Let’s do it.

Water
Cotton: To grow cotton you require about 1400 gallons of water for every pound you intend to produce. That’s a lot of water! Some areas of the world that produce cotton are running out of fresh water due to the production of cotton as well as clothing. Some areas of the world have even experienced desertification as a result of producing cotton.

Hemp: You require about half the amount of water to produce hemp as you would if producing cotton. Hemp is a strong and reliable plant that grows very quickly. Not only that, hemp produces about 200% – 250% more fibre in the same amount of land compared to cotton.

The victor: Hemp

Pesticides
Cotton: One of the biggest downsides to cotton is how much pesticides are used to grow the plant. Although organic cotton farming is beginning to catch on a bit more, the production of cotton worldwide takes up about 25% of the world’s pesticide use. The other unfortunate factor is that these chemicals can end up being absorbed into our skin as we wear clothing.

Hemp: The beauty of hemp is that it requires no pesticides to grow. In fact, it doesn’t require any chemicals at all to grow. The growing nature of the plant competes with weeds and over-powers their ability to sustain themselves. This allows the hemp plant to grow freely and quickly.

The victor: Hemp

Comfort & Longevity
Cotton: Generally very comfortable to begin with, as you continue to wear cotton it ‘breaks in’ to become even more comfortable. There is no denying how soft cotton can be, but it is also true that cotton fibres break down over time and the more it is washed the faster it breaks down.

Hemp: The hemp fibre used in clothing is a strong natural fibre that, like cotton, gets progressively softer with each passing day you wear it and each time you wash it. Although it may not start off quite as soft, it is still soft and certainly would not be considered uncomfortable. The plus is that the fibre is much stronger and durable. Repeated washed will not break the fibre down anywhere near as quickly as cotton. Creating more hemp clothing would mean we would need to produce much less clothing.

The victor: Hemp

Breathability & Wicking
Cotton: Breathability is certainly a strong suit for cotton. It also does not hold odours for very much. This is quite possibly one of the biggest downsides to synthetic fibres, they don’t dispel odour well and don’t often deal with moisture well either. While cotton has a natural wicking system, it also holds moisture a little longer than what might be considered most desirable.

Hemp: Performs very well when it comes to breathability and wicks moisture away from the body effectively. Hemp also carries anti-bacterial properties that trump any other natural fibre. This means hemp will not mold or grow mildew very easily. Since it also does not hold odours, hemp clothing edges out cotton slightly on this one

The victor: Almost a tie, but hemp is our pal on this one again

Aesthetics
Cotton: Without the use of dyes, cotton comes naturally in white, cream and off-white. Cotton can be dyed naturally or synthetically to achieve a desired color. The growing knowledge that cotton is very taxing on the environment and not healthy for our skin is creating quite the demand for organic cotton. In terms of the fashion market, organic cotton is showing up more and more.

Hemp: Given the various processes available to remove fibres from the stem of a hemp plant, hemp can be naturally creamy white, black, green, grey or brown. Without even requiring the use of dye, hemp comes in a variety of colors. Of course, you are still able to dye hemp both naturally and synthetically. Hemp is quickly becoming more and more popular in the fashion market as designers see the potential in the material while being a very environmentally sound option. Since it is durable and lasts a long time, it can be attractive to certain designers.

The voctor: Hemp

Final Decision
Winner by knockout and growing undisputed champion of natural harmony, HEMP! This isn’t to say that cotton, especially grown organically, is not a good material, it simply isn’t better all around than hemp. In some cases, cotton could be a must use if something specific is being produced. The biggest differences are in the facts that hemp requires much less water and no pesticides to produce. Not only that, it boasts a lot more fibre per acre. Concerned about excess CO2 in the atmosphere? Hemp is spectacular at sequestering CO2! Take the time to check out some hemp clothing around the internet or see if there are some local stores who sell it. Although options can sometimes be limited right now, look out for more hemp clothing as awareness continues to spread!

user47602 Loc: ip 304.0.0.33.32

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

You can also smoke the un-pollinated female flowers to good effect!

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Actually, "industrial hemp" has so little of the resin that it is useless for "recreational" purposes. Which is why there is now a trend of states legalizing growing of hemp.

GARGLEBLASTER Loc: Spain

For the OP: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

If the 'powers that be', would declassify hemp from a schedule 1 narcotic, we could also power every diesel engine this country on hemp oil.

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

I suspect that the federal reluctance to free up industrial hemp for routine growing is due to crooked considerations, and lobbying by the cotton industry, seed producers, pesticide & herbicide producers, and fertilizer producers. Hemp has massive benefits over cotton, has no recreational value, and it is on the face of it, irrational to restrict its growing and usage.

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

Agreed!

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

I think I forgot to also mention that there are a number of food products that can be derived from hemp, ranging from animal feed to snacks and breakfast food for people. And because hemp doesn't require or requires only minimal herbicides or pesticides the products are organic or near organic.

TRIVIA: Until hemp was outlawed and natural fiber ropes were gradually replaced with synthetics, hemp was the best fiber for general purpose ropes and especially ropes on sailing ships. The USA's early navy in the days of sailing ships relied on hemp rope, and George Washington and many other farmers grew hemp.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

Exactly, as one said, cotton lobbyists are being threatened. The other group threatened are the ones making what is called spunlace, the cloth that many baby wipes are made of (not to be confused with airlaid pulp based fiber). Spunlace is also in diapers, fem care products too. This material is made from plastic fibers (polyester).

jwt Loc: Texas Hill Country

Great article shooter! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Thanks for the interesting facts. When you look at why hemp production is restricted it's like turning over a rock in a swamp: you never know what loathsome things you'll find.

The issue of water is especially angering. California is a major cotton producer and CA is faced with severe water shortages. Massive amounts of water could be saved if much of the cotton production was replaced with hemp production.

bodacious Loc: Oregon

When we can find hemp products we have been using them for years. Much superior to cottons and "nylon type" materials. When the hemp products get out of the pipe and hippy type shops and more into main stream shops I think we will see a major change in the buying power of consumers. Great article, thanks for posting. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

I look at labels when I buy clothing. Last year I bought a couple of T-shirts which were mostly cotton but also had some hemp fibre in the mix. I have had 100% hemp t-shirts in the past. As mentioned in the article they are not as soft as cotton at the beginning, but get softer after a few wearings and washings. They then seemingly last forever. They also seem to have better wicking properties of perspiration than does cotton.

GARGLEBLASTER Loc: Spain

It doesn't take too much searching on the Internet to find a source of hemp clothing:

http://store.hempest.com/catalog/product_info.php?pid=3033

If you look futher I'm sure there will be more.

bodacious Loc: Oregon

Our son makes tie dyed t-shirts and tries to use hemp whenever possible. My wife has worn a couple for several years and they still work great.