Hemp Fabrics

Hemp Fabrics

Material science hemp fabrics

Hemp is the stalk fibre of the cannabis plant. The written history of the plant can be traced back to 2 millennia BC, where it was already used as a remedy, fibre supplier and intoxicant for ritual purposes.

The warriors of the Crusades wore hemp fabrics under their armour, just as the soldiers of the Russian army had underwear made of hemp in the last world war. The Assassins, a spiritual-warrior order in the Middle East in the 13th century, used the plant's drug to show their members paradise and thus take away their fear of death so that they could fearlessly carry out the order's murderous missions, usually killing themselves in the process. Even today, the name of the drug "hashish" can be traced back to these connections.

Until modern times, hemp was used to make paper and ropes for shipping. As the fibre absorbs up to 30% of its own weight in moisture and swells, it is still used today to seal water pipes, pumps and fittings.

It was only at the instigation of an influential American newspaper magnate, who wanted to promote paper production from the wood of his plantations, that hemp cultivation was banned in the 1930s under the official pretext that the plant was a dangerous drug.

To this day, the cultivation of the THC-containing plant is prohibited in Western Europe and the USA. Efforts are underway to breed low-THC varieties, but so far with little success, especially as the THC content is a natural pesticide, the elimination of which in turn requires the increased use of pesticides.

The hemp fibres on the market come from China, Romania and Poland. Fabrics made from hemp fibres are robust and hard-wearing; they are boil-proof, crease less and become increasingly soft and supple with use.