Hemp fibre is a textile fibre obtained from the innermost part of the cortex of the stalks of the plant Cannabis Sativa. Hemp grows naturally in temperate zones, but can survive in different climates. It is seeded close together to cultivate hemp for fibre, which mashed and weakened gives the textile fibre. Hemp can be grown repeatedly on the same ground since it does not impoverish it, improving and softening the structure of the earth. It some cases it can reach up to 7 metres high within three months of seeding. Once the textile fibre has been extracted or after collecting the seeds, the tow remains as well as the wood-like part of the stalk. It used to be widespread in the world as the raw material for paper production. Its fibres have also provided important raw material for rope and resistant cloths for thousands of years and was linked to the expansion of the Marine Republics and the processing of hemp into yarn and then cloth. Already in 1876 the National Linen and Hemp Factory was a company quoted on the stock exchange, one of the oldest and most enduring.
The fibres are hollow and hygroscopic and the combination of these properties give hemp cloth a high thermal insulation while allowing it to breathe, so that clothes are cool in the summer and warm in the winter; what is more, it is one of most resistant natural fibres, both mechanically (wear and tear) and against deformation. Thanks to these characteristics, a garment made of hemp is soft, comfortable, cool in the heat and covering in the cold, very resistant, non-deformable and hard-wearing. However, hemp cloth also reveals other even more special characteristics: it reflects both ultraviolet rays and UVA (up to 95%); it screens electrostatic fields; does not conduct electricity; does not irritate the skin because it is non-allergenic and keeps bacteria away from the surface of our bodies because it is antiseptic.
