Hemp Fiber

Hemp has been produced for thousands of years as a source of fibre for paper, cloth, sails, canvas and building materials. Natural fibre from the hemp stalk is both durable and flexible.

There are two principal types of fibres in hemp: bast or long fibres and hurds or inner short fibre. Traditionally hemp has been grown for its high quality bast fibres, which account for 20-30 percent of the stalk (depending on the seed variety, and planting density).

Primary bast fibers make up about 70 percent of the fibers, they are long, high in cellulose and low in lignin. Primary bast fibers are the most valuable part of the stalk, and are considered to be among the strongest of plant fibers.

Secondary bast fibers make up the remaining 30 percent of bast fibers, they are medium in length and higher in lignin. They are less valuable and become more prevalent when the hemp plants are grown less densely, making shorter fatter stalks since they do not have to compete for light.

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The production or extraction of the primary bast fibers has traditionally been a high labour-intensive process, however recently developed technologies such as ultrasound and steam explosion, offers a much less labour intensive process. Once separated the bast fibers are ready for spinning and weaving into textiles, or for pulping into high quality pulp. Bast fibers are ideal for specialised paper products such as industrial filters, currency paper, tea bags or cigarette paper.

Hurds are the short fibered inner woody core of the hemp plant. They comprise 70-80 percent of the stalk and are composed of libriform fibers that are high in lignin. Traditionally hurds have been considered waste as they are the by-products from bast extraction. The hurds are 50-77 percent cellulose making them ideal for paper making. One acre of hemp can replace 4.1 acres of trees for pulp production. Although the fibers are shorter than bast fibers they are suitable for a range of products such as rayon, biomass fuel, cellophane, food additives, industrial fabrication materials and newsprint pulp.

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Hemp Fiber: the facts

• Hemp is the oldest cultivated fiber plant in the world.
• Low-THC fiber hemp varieties developed by the French and others have been available for over 20 years. It is impossible to get high from fiber hemp. Over 600,000 acres of hemp is grown worldwide with no drug misuse problem.
• One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or two acres of cotton.
• Trees cut down to make paper take 50 to 500 years to grow, while hemp can be cultivated in as little as 100 days and can yield 4 times more paper over a 20 year period. Until 1883, from 75-90% of all paper in the world was made with cannabis hemp fiber including that for books, Bibles, maps, paper money, stocks and bonds, newspapers, etc.
• Hemp paper is longer lasting than wood pulp, stronger, acid-free, and chlorine free. Chlorine is estimated to cause up to 10% of all Cancers.)
• Hemp paper can be recycled 7 times, wood pulp 4 times.
• If the hemp pulp paper process reported by the USDA in 1916, were legal today it would soon replace 70% of all wood paper products.
• Rag paper containing hemp fiber is the highest quality and longest lasting paper ever made. It can be torn when wet, but returns to its full strength when dry. Barring extreme conditions, rag paper remains stable for centuries.
• Hemp particle board may be up to 2 times stronger than wood particleboard and holds nails better.
• Hemp is softer, warmer, more water absorbent, has three times the tensile strength, and is many times more durable than cotton. Hemp production uses less chemicals than cotton.
• From 70-90% of all rope, twine, and cordage was made from hemp until 1937.
• A strong lustrous fiber; hemp withstands heat, mildew, insects, and is not damaged by light.China is currently the prime producer of hemp textiles, China has had an uninterrupted hemp trade for approximately 6000 years. Other countries such as France, Germany, Spain, England, and Canada are also producing hemp textiles. The once major hemp textile industry has almost completely disappeared from the Western world. Currently the bulk of our demand for textiles is met by cotton and synthetics, both of which have serious environmental problems associated with them.

Not only are there environmental benefits to be gained through hemp cultivation, hemp fabrics have no residual chemicals to impact our health. Fabrics with at least 50 percent hemp content block the sun's UV rays more effectively than do other fabrics. In comparison to cotton, hemp fibres are longer, stronger, more lustrous and absorbent, and more mildew resistant.

Hemp textiles are extremely versatile they are used in the production of clothing, shoes, canvas, rugs and upholstery.

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