Guide
Hemp fabric from Nepal
Hemp fabric is cloth woven from the long, strong fibres in the stalk of the hemp plant. People have made rope and sailcloth from it for thousands of years. In Nepal it still grows wild on the hillsides around the Kathmandu Valley, and families there have spun and woven it by hand for generations. We've made hats, bags and wallets from it since 2010. Here's why we keep coming back to it.
| Hemp | Cotton | Linen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Very strong | Medium | Strong |
| Feel when new | A bit coarse | Soft | Crisp |
| After a year of use | Softer, still strong | Can thin and pill | Softer |
| Breathability | High | Good | High |
| Wrinkles | Some | Some | A lot |
Why does hemp feel rough at first?
New hemp is stiff. The fibres are long and straight, a bit like linen or burlap. Then you wear it, wash it, fold it into a bag, sit on it by accident, and the fibres relax. By the end of the first summer a hemp hat or wallet feels completely different from the day it arrived: softer, and more yours.
Why is hemp good for bags and wallets?
Strength. Think about how many times a day your wallet goes in and out of a back pocket. A bag gets dropped on station floors, sat on and rained on. Hemp handles all of it. It wears in, not out.
Is hemp an eco-friendly fabric?
Hemp grows fast and dense, so it shades out weeds on its own, and it usually needs less water than cotton. Our hemp pieces are made by hand in Kathmandu by craftspeople paid fair wages in safe working conditions.
