The Afends Hemp Revolution is our way of promoting sustainability to our consumers as well as the surf and fashion industries. The fashion industry alone is one of the biggest contributors of pesticides world wide – mainly due to cotton farming. The more we investigated and researched hemp, the deeper our understanding became that this plant is the way of the future. No chemicals or pesticides are needed to grow it, and with a extremely quick growth rate and it requires much less water to grow as opposed to cotton.
1.
80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc., were made from hemp until the 1820s, with the introduction of the cotton gin.
2.
In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees.
3.
Hemp can clean the atmosphere and protect the environment and even reversing damage done to it. Global warming is the result of high levels of carbon dioxide, or CO2. Hemp consumes four times as much CO2 as trees do, effectively fighting global warming.
4.
Hemp can grow nearly anywhere in the world, in many types of soil — even in short growing seasons or in dry regions — and helps purify soil as well as kills some types of weeds.
5.
Hemp processed with lime to create a concrete-like material can be used for insulation in houses. Hempcrete can replace wood to build very durable and breathable homes.
6.
Due to it being a protein that contains amino acids and vitamins, hemp seeds are one of the most nutritionally dense foods, which can also be made into oil or flour.
7.
In 1941, Henry Ford displayed a car that was made out of soybean, hemp and plastics; it was lighter than steel and withstood ten times the impact...without denting.
8.
The hemp seed contains a nutrient that’s also in, wait for it, breast milk. Yeah, the seed contains an oil also found in breast milk. The oil has other omega-3 and 6 fatty acids which makes it healthier than most varieties of vegetable oil.
9.
Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.
10.
Marijuana and hemp seeds originate from cannabis plant, but hemp and marijuana are not the same. Agricultural hemp contains almost no tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that causes you to get high.
Join the Revolution.
The youth are the future and we feel it’s important for Afends to be a role model in sustainable practices. We have spent over two years researching hemp - using all means necessary, the internet, talking to people in the industry, watching documentaries and even going to Australia’s largest hemp field and what we took away from this research is that hemp is the most sustainable way to make clothing, by a long shot. However, the hemp industry is still stuck in the 1800’s when it comes to technology due to the criminalisation of hemp products and their derivatives for so many years. The taboo surrounding this plant is still its downfall.
Despite this, the hemp industry is on the rise! Hemp makes incredible durable clothing and becomes super soft over time, wearing in not out. Our Hemp Revolution campaign isn’t just about using hemp in the clothing industry, but in many other industries - fuel, medicine and building to name just a few. We want to take this opportunity to showcase what an incredible plant hemp really is - help us spread the word and become a Hemp Ambassador with us! By investing in the Afends 'HEMP REVOLUTION' you are helping the fashion industry move towards the use of more eco friendly fabrics!
1
Pictured left is the hemp plant. Hemp grows naturally without pesticides or herbicides. The reason for this is due to the leaves blocking all sunlight to the ground below, taking away sunlight for any potential weeds that would grow. Herbicides aren’t necessary as they target the leaves - which are not used for fibre. Growing hemp requires far less water than any other plant grown for fibre. It takes only 90 days from planting for hemp to be ready for harvest - If the fibre was grown for paper. Compared to the growth rate of a tree, which can take up-to 40 years, hemp is a much more suitable option. After harvesting hemp, the soil can be used many more times, for years in fact, maintaining its high quality, nutrient rich properties. This is due to hemp roots drawing ground water, which reduces salinity in the soil, as well as absorbing toxic properties such as copper, lead and mercury, at the same time as enriching the soil with nitrogen.
2
Pictured left is a cotton farm. Cotton can also be grown organicaly however this yields a lot less and is a great deal more work for the farmers. Most farmers would agree that organic cotton isn’t actually sustainable for mass growing of cotton. Cotton uses massive amounts of water to grow, doesn’t have any positive effects on the soil and generally requires a lot of herbicides and pesticidies to produce the massive quantities the fashion industries require. The equipment, processes and technologies used in cotton farming and production are far more adnvanced than those used for hemp farming.
3
Polyester made fibres are an oil based product. The illustration on the right shows an oil rig drilling for oil. Exploring and drilling for oil causes massive environmental issues to land and ocean habitats. Oil extraction brings more CO2 into our atmosphere, adds toxic chemicals into the rain forests and increases levels of mercury in fish which affect top predators and humans alike. As well as the massive environmental destruction drilling and extracting of oil has on the environment, the products themselves that are produced from polyester take hundreds of years to break down.
