Did you know that hemp has been harvested for thousands of years and is one of the oldest fabrics in existence? It’s widely understood to be the first plant ever cultivated by humans and one of the first sources of spun textiles. So why are we only re-discovering this ecological and sustainable fabric again in recent years?
Hooman’s Friend want to make it fashionable again, especially for our furry friends. It’s important to break down the negative walls of the hemp stigma. The hemp plant has a considerably lower carbon footprint, uses less water in production and grows mostly pesticide free. This makes it superior to other common materials that are used for today's pet accessories.
Industrial hemp is a variety of the cannabis sativa plant species specifically grown for industrial use. The concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is less than the regulated maximum level which is currently up to around 0.2% in the EU. They have also a higher level of cannabidiol (CBD) which prevents psychoactive use. It should not be mixed up with cannabis, commonly known as marijuana with a THC content of up to 20%. In other words, this plant will not give you a “high”. But it can get you “high” on the feeling that you’re saving the planet by relying a little bit more on it and buying more consciously!
The indistinction between hemp for industrial use and marijuana in the early 1900s lead to a demonisation and lack of investments into hemp as a sustainable and ecological material for our clothes and accessories. It went twice from legal to illegal and back to a mostly heavily regulated crop today.
Below timeline of hemp history will show the up and down of the humble plant. It’s amazing to see how it has been part of our history for so long yet we are only rediscovering it as a fashion item in the past 5 years.
As you can see the plant has been part of our lives forever! The benefits and superiority of hemp material in terms of being better for our pets and environment compared to nylon and conventional cotton are undisputed. If you like to learn more in this article, we looked into more detail how we can protect our pets and how we should avoid synthetic fibres due to their toxicity.
All we need is to make hemp fashionable again and spread the word!