Hemp is a commercial fiber crop which is a variety of the plant species Cannabis Sativa meaning "useful hemp". Cannabis Sativa is the preferred strain to produce commercial hemp as it has longer fibers than Cannabis Indica. Hemp has been grown for millennia in Asia and the Middle East for its fiber. Commercial production of hemp in the West took off in the eighteenth century, but was grown in the sixteenth century in eastern England. American production of hemp was encouraged by the government in the 17th century for the production of rope, sails, and clothing. In 1619 the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.

Hemp is one of the most durable and sustainable natural fibers that exists and has very high tensile strength. Hemp grows to maturity in 100 days and is ideal in rotation and conditions the soil for future crops with its long root system. It softens with use and yet remains hard-wearing over time. Hence the saying, "hemp wears in not out." Hemp fabrics dye very effectively and retain color well over time. Garments "breathe", due the porous nature of the fibers, so that hemp cloth stays cooler in warm weather while at the same time retaining heat in cooler weather as body heat warms air trapped in the fibers. Hemp clothing naturally stops up to 95% of the sun's harmful UV light, while being up to five times stronger than cotton. Coupled this with its strong anti-fungal and antibacterial properties, resistance to mold, make the fabric a natural choice for hospitals and surgical applications.

Hemp requires zero to one third the amount of fertilizers and pesticides to grow over cotton. After all... it's a weed and grows like one. Every part of the plant can be used commercially. Its core, fibers, seeds and flowers serve as raw material for numerous products in a variety of sectors: food of varying descriptions, health products, clothing, fabrics, cosmetics, bags, paper, books, carpets, insulation materials, fiber-reinforced plastics, animal bedding, body-care products and aromatic essential oils are all produced from hemp.

Hemp paper is of superior strength, and folding endurance, which will outlast wood pulp paper by a factor of ten. Hemp on an annual basis produces more pulp per acre than trees with considerably less risk involved. Construction materials are now widely used in France where houses are being built utilizing hemp as a concrete substitute, and hemp medium density fiberboard (MDF) as an alternative to wood fiberboards. Hemp hurd is largely cellulose and is able to produce degradable plastics.

Don't take our word that hemp is one of the best plants in the world... check it out for yourself.

"Hemp produces a strong clean yarn with a structure that makes the cloth cool in summer and warm and comfortable in winter." - Giorgio Armani

"I believe that hemp is going to be the fiber of choice in both the home furnishing and fashion industries." - Calvin Klein