While we appreciate a variety of natural textiles, hemp stands out as the unsung hero of the year. This often-overlooked fabric possesses a myriad of unique qualities that set it apart from other fibers. These are not just small advantages; they are distinct features you need to experience to truly understand—wondering what kind of hemp clothing is right for you, how to style it to look your best, or why you should snag some hemp gear in the first place? This in-depth guide has you covered on all fronts.
What Is Hemp?
Hemp fibers, derived from the cannabis sativa plant, are an incredibly diverse, multi-functional natural material, used for everything from clothing and rope to soaps and shampoos. At one point, Henry Ford even built a car partially made from hemp to support American farmers!
While most folks associate this plant with its psychoactive properties, the cannabis grown for hemp is a different story. Unlike the cannabis used for THC, which is selectively bred to produce bigger buds with higher concentrations of the compound, commercial hemp farmers have spent generations breeding their crop to have more robust stems and less psychoactive compounds.
The thick stems of the plant consist of an outer layer of durable bast fibers surrounding a woody pith at their core. The outer layer is removed in a process called retting, after which the fibers are dried, steamed, carded, and spun into yarns. The pith is utilized for fuel, construction materials, or animal bedding, so nothing goes to waste.
Hemp & The Environment
In terms of environmental responsibility, hemp is the reigning champ. It requires very little water to cultivate, can be grown densely, and naturally restores the soil it’s grown in, making it impressively renewable.
Hemp farming also doesn’t require pesticides, minimizing its impact on the local soil, waterways, and air. Speaking of air quality, hemp punches way above its weight class when it comes to cleaning the atmosphere, absorbing 3-6 tons of CO2 per acre compared to the 1-3 tons per acre of trees.
All of that adds up to a renewable, carbon-negative source for some of the most responsible clothing you can buy.
Benefits of Hemp Clothing
Adding to hemp’s impressive list of environmental benefits is its stellar durability. Nearly three times stronger than cotton fibers, hemp can handle years of rough treatment with relative ease and softens with every wash and wear. When the day finally comes that your hemp clothes are beyond repair, the 100% biodegradable nature of hemp means less toxic waste choking up our landfills.
Hemp is also naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial, which basically means it’s anti-stink. So you can get a lot more wear out of your hemp clothing before it fails the ol’ sniff test.
Some gear keeps you cool in summer, and some keeps you warm in winter, but thanks to its naturally temperature-regulating properties, hemp can do both. While this means hemp can work well in any season, the breathable feel and natural sweat dispersion of the fabric make it a true champ in the summer.
How To Wear Hemp
Like linen, hemp has a lot of natural texture, lending it a ton of visual nuance and a generally “relaxed” look and feel. Given its laundry list of benefits, we try to work hemp into our wardrobe in many different ways, but in general, hemp is best suited to more casual settings. Hemp shorts are a great option to get you through summer, and hemp jackets are a perfect choice for warm-weather layering.
On its own, hemp can have a slightly rough hand feel that, if worn directly against the skin, can make it less than ideal in the comfort department. Of course, the hemp will soften with age, but when it comes to tee shirts, we like something that’s soft and comfortable right off the rack. Our solution to this quandary is our hemp t-shirt, the Cotton Hemp Tee. By blending hemp with organic cotton, we’re able to harness all the lightweight, breathable benefits of hemp in a package that’s soft as a baby’s bottom from the very first wear.
Clearly, there are a lot of ways to get more hemp into your rotation, but in case you need a little inspiration, here are some of our favorite ways to wear hemp this summer.
Long On Top, Shorts Below
This is a simple spring and summer outfit that creates visual interest by “mixing seasons” a bit. Start with a pair of hemp shorts and finish off the look with a crewneck sweatshirt or henley shirt. This look is best sported with the addition of sunglasses and either simple sneakers of a choice pair of loafers.
The Classic
Jeans and a t-shirt may be the most iconic getup in American menswear. Sported by the likes of Steve McQueen on a near-daily basis, it’s the ultimate one-two punch to get you through spring, summer, and fall. By swapping out the traditional cotton tee with a hemp t-shirt, you can add some textural oomph to an already legendary ensemble.
July At The Office
The short-sleeve polo shirt is a classic for good reason—it offers all the easy comfort of a t-shirt in a format better suited to business casual. Swap out your standard polo for a hemp version for perfect warm-weather performance with looks to spare. Pair it with a solid pair of chinos or hemp pants, and you’ve got an occasion-agnostic getup that will look great from the office to a lunch date to back-nine on the green.
Stop By The Hemp Shop
In our constant search for the highest quality materials on the planet, it should come as no surprise that we’ve got a ton of hemp offerings in our roster. From the legendary Cotton Hemp Tee to hemp shirts and shorts, you’ll find everything you need to get some of this veritable super-fabric into your wardrobe.
Of course, none of our gear, hemp or not, would get our seal of approval without the world-class craftsmanship to stand up to years of hard wear. These are clothes that age with you and get better with every outing.
Stop by The Hemp Shop to explore a summer-ready selection of hemp clothing and gear up to get out there this season.
