Hemp & Sustainability - What do you think?

What is Hemp and How is it Made into Fabric?

Industrial hemp only contains a small amount of the psychoactive component of cannabis and therefore has been named the "sober cousin" of cannabis. Hemp's history of thousands of years of cultivation as fiber on almost every continent contributes to the ancient plant's ethos as an environmentally beneficial tool. Hemp appears in clothing, rope, sails, canvas, etc. The plant is not only good for the environment but has also revolutionized the fashion industry. According to The Good Trade, the term "fast fashion" refers to the design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on the rapid production of high volumes of clothing. Fast fashion prioritizes trend replication and low-quality materials over sustainability efforts. Hemp-based clothing poses a solution to the harms of fast fashion.

Hemp is a type of "bast fiber," meaning it's derived from the stems of plants like flax, jute, and stinging nettle. Hemp fiber is similar to the texture of linen and can be easily combined with other natural fibers to create soft and durable fabrics. Hemp fabric originates from the long fiber strands found in the stalk of the plant. To separate these fibers from the bark, a process called "retting" takes place. After retting, the fibers are spun together to produce a continuous thread woven into the fabric.


AFENDS
Afends is a Byron Bay clothing label and leader in the hemp-based fashion industry. Afends produces men's and women's street, surf, and skate fashion. The clothing label prioritizes sustainability by providing transparency in their supply and design, business ethics, innovation, and workplace culture. Afends also supports causes that pertain to their business values and believe taking action is imperative to cultivating change.


Benefits of Hemp-Based Clothing
Afends emphasizes the benefits of working with hemp.

1. Hemp requires significantly less water than conventional fibers and requires a relatively small amount of land and time to cultivate.

1. Hemp contributes to the fight against global warming. Hemp uses 80% less energy than traditional cotton to grow and absorbs four times more CO2 than trees do. Hemp's ecological footprint is small, another reason Afends values its versatility. For every ton of hemp produced, 1.63 tons of carbon gets cleared from the air, according to Afends.

1. Hemp offers UV protection. Wearing your new hemp shirt means simultaneous protection from the harsh rays of the sun. Hemp also acts as a natural insulator, keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

1. Hemp is compostable. Hemp fibers are 100% biodegradable and can easily be reprocessed. Afends encourages consumers to recycle their hemp clothing after use.

1. Hemp acts as its antimicrobial agent. Hemp is also antibacterial and fights against germs and odors to keep your clothing fresh. Hemp resists mildew and retains less water by absorbing some of its weight.

1. Hemp regenerates the soil by returning 60-70% of the nutrients it takes from the soil. As a densely growing plant, hemp's ability to choke competing plants means harsher chemical herbicides aren't necessary for its growth. Hemp also reduces pests, meaning pesticides are usually unnecessary.

1. Hemp fabric is hypoallergenic, non-irritating to the skin, and gets softer after every wash. Hemp's high crop yield produces more fiber cultivation than cotton and provides durable, long-lasting wear.

Forget the corrupt money fake authority a holes, they are not the boss of anyone nor do they matter, they're just posers w lots of useless money,
Gather buckets or truck loads of hemp and marijuana seeds and go out and throw them w everywhere near moist and free rain fall areas and let it grow wild, to cleanse the air and ground for future better soils, forget the money, help the earth and plant a million trillion seeds every year cover the planet with both, otherwise you're just no help to humanity...peace - fearless not careless - abolish capitalism