Hemp has accompanied man throughout history and its fibres have been used for centuries to produce material that can be spun into cloth. In fact, until the mid-19th century, most clothing as well as household linen was made from hemp. The industrialisation of the textile sector, however, led to an increase in the production of other natural but less environmentally friendly fibres, such as cotton and synthetic fibres, thus leading to a gradual decrease in the use of textile hemp.

After a long period of prohibition on the whole Cannabis Sativa plant, hemp production has resumed in recent years and is mainly cultivated for food and industrial uses, including paper, clothing, ropes, building materials, biofuels and cosmetics. In addition, hemp is re-becoming an excellent alternative to many natural and synthetic textiles, mainly due to its sustainability in cultivation.

The properties of hemp fabric

Hemp fabrics are created from hemp stems and have multiple properties:

  • high tensile strength,
  • moisture absorption,
  • are soft and comfortable against the skin,
  • antibacterial,
  • antifungals
  • hypoallergenic,
  • hypoallergenic,
  • anti-inflammatories
  • natural UV protectors,
  • insect repellents.

All these properties make hemp fibre an excellent natural fibre material to use as a raw material for textiles. Compared to other common fibres, such as cotton, wool and silk, hemp fibre has the additional advantage of being renewable (harvested annually), biodegradable (it will decay over time) and durable (due to its high tensile strength).

Is textile hemp vegan?

What has the greatest impact on the vegan aspect of textile hemp is its post-harvest and post-maceration production, i.e. its transformation through spinning into textiles, which can basically be done in two ways:

  1. plant process

In the vegetable process, the fibrous material is boiled in water for several hours to remove lignin, waxes, resins, tannins, rubber and coloured pigments. It is then spun into fabric using different spinning techniques. The quality of the fabric obtained is very high.

  1. animal process

The animal process, on the other hand, involves the use of animal fat to speed up the cleaning process of the material ready for spinning, but the quality of the product obtained by this method is inferior to that of the vegetable process. This difference is mainly due to the fact that through this process many impurities are not removed, which makes subsequent spinning more difficult and the final fabric of inferior quality. For all these reasons, the preferred process is the vegetable process, and so yes! Textile hemp is vegan friendly!

One of the most critical steps in the production of hemp yarn remains the artificial maceration process, as the chemicals used to dissolve the pectin, such as caustic soda, can also affect the fibres, thus compromising the final quality of the fabric. However, there are other techniques for fibre steeping, such as 'microbiological' steeping, where with the addition of bacteria, the steeping process is speeded up and good fabric quality is achieved.

So yes or no?

Hemp fibres naturally contain fatty acids that seal in moisture and maintain freshness, making hemp garments virtually water-repellent. Hemp is biodegradable and requires no toxic chemicals or hazardous materials for production. In addition, hemp requires between 2,000 and 3,000 litres of water per 1 kg of finished fabric, whereas the same amount of cotton requires between 9,000 and 10,000 litres [1].

References and insights:

[1], Cherrett, N., Barrett, J., Clemett, A., Chadwick, M. and Chadwick, M. J. (2005). Ecological footprint and water analysis of cotton, hemp and polyester. Stockholm Environment Institute

Photo:

[F1] Fuzzy Rescue, Pexels

[F2] Nickolas Nikolic, Unsplash

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