HEMP

HISTORY OF HEMP

Hemp fiber is one of the strongest and most durable of all natural textile fibers. Products made from hemp will outlast their competition by many years. Not only is hemp strong, but it also holds its shape, stretching less than any other natural fiber.

Hemp has been cultivated on planet earth for over 10,000 years. It has been an important source of food and fibre with references dating back to ancient China and Mesopotamia. ... Historically, hemp was a vital crop for North America and even in the early 1600s it was the law of the land to grow it.

It is believed that hemp made it to Europe in approximately 1,200 BC. From there, it spread throughout the ancient world. China appears to have the longest continuous history of Hemp cultivation (over 6000 years). France has cultivated Hemp for at least 700 years to the present day, Spain and Chile similarly.

U.S. COMPANIES USING HEMP

U.S. companies that manufacture or sell products made with hemp include Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a California company who manufactures the number-one-selling natural soap, and FlexForm Technologies, an Indiana company whose natural fiber materials are used in over 2 million cars. Hemp food manufacturers such as French Meadow Bakery, Living Harvest, Nature's Path and Nutiva now make their products from Canadian hemp. Although hemp grows wild across the U.S., a vestige of centuries of hemp farming, the hemp for these products must be imported. Health Canada statistics show that 48,060 acres of industrial hemp were produced in Canada in 2006. Farmers in Canada have reported that hemp is one of the most profitable crops that they can grow. Hemp clothing is made around the world by well-known brands such as Patagonia, Bono's Edun, Giorgio Armani..and right here at small-batch Naked Clothing