Our new Jane Cuffed Hemp Tee is here, and we’re excited to share this new style with you!
We have been on the search for new ways to elevate our sustainable game, and cannot wait for you to experience our hemp and organic cotton blend tees. We’re kicking off this style in two colors: Golden and Off-white, and both are offered in sizes XS-3X.
The hemp fabric we work with is carefully woven to create shirts that are durable for daily wear, and light enough for the warmer months on the horizon. This moisture-wicking tee is actually antibacterial due to the natural properties of hemp plants. With the cotton softness we all know and love, and the sustainability of hemp, this tee is doubling down on it’s premium and earth-friendly offerings to you.
The great thing about hemp is that it is one of the most sustainable fabric options on the market today.
How are our Hemp and Organic Cotton fabric made?
Like cotton, hemp actually starts out as a plant that is grown in a field, collected, and then processed before it can be woven into fabric. When the hemp is grown, the process is similar to any other plant. Hemp requires water, fertile soil, sunlight, and room to grow –– the fundamentals of life!
Once the hemp plants are fully grown, they are harvested and the stalks are retted. Retting is the process of separating the hemp fibers from non-fibrous material in the stem of the plant. Retting can be accomplished naturally by using organisms like bacteria and fungi, or by using chemicals to help break apart the different components of the hemp stalk.
After retting, the fibrous materials must be separated from the woody stem and other parts of the plant that cannot be used for fabric. Once these parts are removed, what is left can be refined by using a comb, strengthened by intertwining the fibers, and finally turned into yarn! It’s an incredible process that makes for vibrant, natural, and long-lasting fabric.
Creating yarn from hemp fibers can be done either with or without water. In order for the yarn to become soft enough to be used in our t-shirts, the fibers are spun together with water.
Since our tees are a blend of hemp and cotton, the hemp is spun together with cotton. This gives the hemp fabric additional stretch and softness, which provides an ease to the fit and comfort of our shirts. Also, the spinning process transforms the hemp into a soft yarn, which can then be woven to create fabric that is lightweight and wearable. The weaving technique used to turn the yarn into fabric is comparable to the process of weaving cotton. Once woven, the result is a light, comfortable material, comparable to flax or linen. Super luxurious in feel and look.
Is Hemp Sustainable?
In short: YES! The best part about hemp is that its environmental impact is very low compared to other materials. In fact, hemp plants are able to grow with relatively little land, water, and fertilizer.
Fun Facts
Hemp fabrics require significantly less water to produce than cotton. It is estimated that producing 1 kg of non-organic cotton requires upwards of 9,700 liters of water, but 1 kg of hemp only needs about 2100 liters. A huge difference!
Our Jane Tees are saving a significant amount of water, and we’re thrilled to share that with you as it’s part of our bigger goals for 2021: continuing to create premium, earth-friendly products while finding better ways to reduce our impact and do the least harm on our planet.
Hemp is also a great option in terms of land usage. The plants take up the smallest amount of space, and have the largest amount of fiber produced when compared to other organic materials. With a large yield from each plant, and the ability to grow plants very close together, hemp is a viable option for environmentally friendly textile production.
Spoiler alert: hemp is also good for soil. As plants grow, nutrients are removed from the soil, which can result in soil depletion if the plants are not regularly rotated. Hemp is a good crop to use in between other crops because it grows very quickly and can restore the health of the soil. Hemp actually only takes about 3-4 months to fully mature, which makes it the perfect plant to use in between other crops.
Hemp plants are also naturally antibacterial and pest resistant. This means that they do not require intense herbicides or pesticides when they are being grown. Many pesticides are toxic, and can cause cancer in humans and animals. By not using these chemicals while growing hemp, it minimizes the harm to the earth and living beings.
With all of these things in mind, we can’t help but be thrilled about the future and possibilities designing with hemp.
