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See also our section on Hemp Science.
A Hemp field absorbs 22-44 tonnes of CO2 per hectare (at one or two crops a year) or 3,7 kg CO2 per kg fibre produced. Cotton only absorbs 5 tonnes CO2 per hectare, or 1,7 kg CO2 per kg fibre. Hemp requires 1,1 m2 land per kg fibre, cotton 3,4 m2. Cotton needs about 10.000 litres of water per kg fibre. Average rainfall takes care of 5.000 l, leaving a need for irrigation of 5.000 litres per kg cotton fibre. Hemp only needs about 2.000 litres of water per kg fibre, which, normally, is easily accommodated by natural rainfall.
For you and your conscience, this means if you buy 1 kg of hemp textile products instead of 1 kg of (organic) cotton textile, the planet saves 2,0 kg CO2, 2,2 m2 land (that could be used for food production) and 5.000 liter irrigated water. That is a lot of water you can save, on top of everything else…
– Why are we “criticizing” organic cotton? Well, it is definitively better than conventional cotton, since no harmful chemicals are used, in principle. However the use of scarce resources like land and water must be brought in, if we are talking sustainability. Another reason to be careful is, there are great temptations to cheat with chemicals in order to increase cotton-yields. And to “green-wash” with certificates. This is not the case with hemp. Hemp does not benefit in any way from the use of pesticides or herbicides, since it repels both insects, bugs, most fungi and all significant weeds by nature.
From sustainable cultivation to Sustainable Luxury…
Sustainability is a matter of how we use finite resources, recycle, minimize waste and man-made greenhouse gasses, so we improve habitability. It is also a matter of ethics, science and common sense. Many smart solutions towards a sustainable and even good existence are handed to us by Nature.
We incorporated sustainability in our business and even labeled it “Sustainable Luxury”
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