Past As Prologue...Lets Review the Hemp story
Hemp was likely mankind’s first fiber(1). It was also the material of the first Levi’s ™ jeans. Approximately 80% of clothing in late renaissance England was made of hemp. How about that...? In the US, it was cultivated extensively from pre-colonial times forward and by indigenous peoples long before that. Everything from medicine to plastics (automobile door panels, even...), sails and rope to concrete can be made from hemp. It is estimated that over 50,000 products can be produced from the hemp plant. (We are focused on trucker jackets...) Outlawed in 1937 due to pressure from an emerging petroleum plastic lobby and cotton producers, as well as conflation of industrial hemp with its intoxicating cousin, marijuana, it was brought back to help supply the military in WWII. After victory, it was sent back to the dark realms of illegality once more. Although not a drug, this rationale was given as a reason to ban it and our economy and ecology have suffered as a result. Now that hemp cultivation is legal in the US once more, perhaps we can return to employing this amazing and versatile fiber to meet more of our manufacturing needs.
The Material Facts...Why Hemp is best
Hemp is wicked strong! Our lab can’t tell us the exact tear-strength of the 100% hemp fabric we have engineered, only that the tearing machine maxed out trying. Hemp is also ecologically friendly; it grows so thick it chokes out the weeds and so requires no herbicides. It also uses about 1/2 the water needed for a cotton crop. It is nitrogen fixing and the roots left after harvest improve the soil for the next crop. Hemp has anti-microbial properties and mold resistance, it is breathable and repels water. Hemp is also a carbon equalizer, absorbing up to four times as much as trees do. Does it sound like we are describing an impossibly perfect fiber which can provide for nearly all of our material needs? Well, Hemp is nature’s perfect material and humanity’s long lost future.
Why the original is the best
The Hemp Jacket ™ is the original and best 100% hemp denim trucker jacket because of our unique-to-the-industry growing, harvesting and manufacturing processes. Other jackets achieve “cottony” softness through blending with cotton, hammering and boiling in harsh chemicals-none of which are good things in our view. The Hemp Jacket™ is soft due to our proprietary process and weaving methods and needs nothing to blend in softness; its already there. Unlike some hemp materials we have seen, there is no rough “burlap” texture to our jacket. If anything, it is silky and supple and very comfortable to wear while providing all of the amazing advantages of the hemp plant from which it is made.
Tough Fashion
Although the tear point of our fabric is not technically known yet (we are still looking for a laboratory machine which can tear it), it is one tough garment! Even so, it is meant to be a statement as well as a tool. It will keep the wind off. It will keep you warm, especially if you use the optional snap-in quilted liner and fleece-lined hood. But it will also not go unnoticed on the street. Your hemp jacket has a unique cut and look. And it is rare; it is only produced in small batches when the best first growth hemp is harvested. This jacket is built to last. Hopefully your children and grandchildren will like it when it gets passed down to them. Watch the video to see us put the fabric to the test! (Don't try this at home,,,)