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Welcome to the UK's oldest & largest supplier of Hemp fabrics with over 25 years experience in the use of pure Hemp and Hemp blends
Did you know that hemp fabric is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable of all-natural fabrics? Hemp grows organically almost anywhere, which means no harmful pesticides or fertilisers are used in the growing process. Hemp plants need just a fifth of the water that cotton requires to grow and the plants leave the soil in a better condition, enriching the ground. Every time you choose pure hemp fabrics or hemp fabric blends, you’re making a healthy and happy choice for the environment!
Modern advancements in fabric technology have improved the quality of Hemp cloth dramatically over the years. What was once a rough, unyielding fabric is now super soft and versatile. Thermo-dynamic, superior wicking, up to 5 times stronger than cotton, like for like - a true Super-Fibre. Hemp fabrics have the look and feel of linen, without the care difficulties (hemp is up to 8x stronger than linen).
Our fabric comes from two main areas of the world: Romania and China.
Historically, Romanian people have traditionally grown hemp for its fibre. In some Romanian regions, the old traditional ways of growing and processing hemp within the household have remained unchanged until today. Our fibres from Romania are spun, milled, woven, dyed and finished without toxic chemicals (often with no chemicals at all) and without using huge amounts of fresh water. The mill produces the Hemp fabrics from organic yarn, which, although not certified, is grown/cultivated, produced and spun, organically. The Hemp is grown in Romania and Ukraine, it is farmed organically but due to the current cost for testing each and every field (most of the fibre comes from farming collectives) it is too expensive for the farmers to pay for the actual certification.
Our Romanian fabrics are made from hemp fibres that have been mechanically processed with a chemical-free, environmentally-sound technology. This natural processing preserves the innate integrity of hemp fibre with its long molecular structure and inherent strength and durability. It is accomplished with a series of increasingly fine mechanical combings done in two stages known as scutching and hackling, the traditional methods used for hemp processing in Eastern Europe.
The production facility for our Romanian hemp fabrics has been assessed by Sedex, one of the world’s leading online platforms for companies to manage and improve working conditions in global supply chains. A SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Report) report has been conducted for the company and their facility. SMETA reports cover labour standards, health & safety, environment and business ethics in-depth. They were found to be compliant in all areas of the report.
Hemp first grew on planet earth in China. Our Chinese fabric begins life in small farms in Shanxi, a farming region in northern China. The climate and soil of the region offer the ideal environment for hemp to grow successfully and this, together with the expertise long passed down through the generations, makes it an economically viable plant for even the smallest of farms to grow.
Although the demand for hemp is constantly increasing, its demonisation alongside marijuana in the US and Western Europe which resulted in a ban on planting the crop has meant that its growth has been slow and its reach much smaller than cotton. This is also why our hemp is sourced from lots of small farms. While it is great to support these farmers it does make it difficult to certify to an organic standard: organic certification is not economically viable for these family-run farms. This is unlike the organic cotton yarns that are found in some of our Hemp and Cotton blended fabrics, which is certified.
1. Minimum labour standards Working hours: 8 hours per day. From 8am to 11am then 1pm to 6pm. Wage: In comparison to the average standard wages in the province according to Chinese government's figures, the wages paid at the mill are between 52% & 104% higher. No use of child labour or forced labour. No discrimination or harassment. We have assurances according to the Chinese labour law. And the mill also organises sporting activities for the workers.
2. Adding value, fair trade and sustainable livelihoods The mill emphasis is on the environmental protection and energy saving for hemp production; also looking for new methods to save time and lessen the waste. The mill is the pioneer in this industry, both a leader of hemp fabrics in China & the world as well.
3. Environmental standards. Almost all of our Chinese fabrics are organic, with the Hemp sourced from China and the cotton from Turkey. The mill we work with is the leader in the hemp field, they also work as a research institute for hemp, and they follow the environment protection law of China for production. The Organic Cotton in almost every fabric we sell from the Chinese mills is GOTS & OEKO-TEX Standard 100 approved, with the finished yarns being OCS certified. The Hemp is grown organically (being so easy to grow organically) but is not currently certified as the hemp is grown on hundreds of small farms and those individual farmers cannot afford the certification process.
For over 20 years, we have worked to bring you the very latest and greatest from the world of Hemp; to provide you sustainable alternatives to everyday items; creating ecologically, environmentally friendly and sustainable products from all over the globe. As the UK's longest-running Hemp company, we now offer even more products at fantastic prices with a greater selection than ever before. This has been a long journey and a journey we will continue. When we started, all those years ago, barely anyone knew what Hemp was and those that did, only knew it was either Rope or Dope. Now, as then, we have a range we are truly proud of: from ethical hemp clothing and accessories, sustainable hemp fabrics and interiors, to the power-packed nutrition in Hemp foods and the nourishing Hemp Oil in our natural beauty products. This website is designed specifically for customers interested in purchasing our sustainable hemp fabrics, to discover our full range of hemp products, visit us over at www.thehempshop.co.uk
The extraordinary Hemp plant continues to surprise and amaze us with its power and versatility. Whether you are looking for food or fabrics, seeds or soaps, Hemp really is the super seed that we all need. And its scope keeps on growing. There are estimated to be over 50,000 uses for hemp from plastics to fuels, foods to beauty, clothing to supercapacitors. These and many more products have come into existence because there is a growing and ever expanding group of people, all over the globe, dedicated to saving our home – Planet Earth. That’s why we do, what we do.
We have been looking at the most-asked questions about hemp fabrics on the internet, and we’ve tried to answer them for you below. With over 25 years of experience working with hemp fabrics, we have learned a thing or two about them along the way. Our hemp fabrics continue to be highly popular, and we are seeing more people than ever interested in trying these sustainable ethical fabrics for themselves...
We’re proud to have the UK’s largest range of sustainable hemp fabrics, and since we’ve been selling them for 25+ years, we’ve learned a thing or two along the way. If you’re asking the question “are hemp fabrics waterproof?” then the answer is no. At least, not to the modern standard of waterproofing. If you get the angle right, due to the tight weave in a Hemp Canvas fabric and that the fibre itself swells and thereby creates a block to the rain coming in, you can keep dry underneath...
Fibre reactive dyes are synthetic low impact dyes that “react” with the fabric fibres, resulting in rich and long-lasting colour. Read on below to discover why these dyes are considered the best choice for low impact colour-rich dyeing. Fibre reactive dyes only work on what is known as “Cellulosic fabrics”, that basically means fabrics of a plant based origin. This includes such fabrics as hemp, cotton, linen, rayon and Tencel. The dyes can also be used on wool and some synthetics if a weak acid is introduced.