Miracle Fiber....Or No???

            Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a perfect piece of material? I textile with the durability of a metal pipe, the sustainability only we could dream of, and the price that any budget could afford? That would seem like a pretty good example of a miracle fiber to me.

            Hemp…does it deserve the title of miracle fiber? In the article titled “Hemp: Historic Fiber Remains Controversial” it tells us a little bit about the qualities of hemp. It states that hemp can be used in a variety of ways and has been around since the 28^th century.  Big names such as Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren are all getting involved with the hemp business. Klein was quoted saying that he thought hemp was going to be the fabric of choice for home furnishings and apparel. Now for one of the downsides of hemp, it is the subject of a worldwide controversy that involves such desperate factions as farmers, government enforcement agencies, environmentalists, supporters of legalized drugs and manufacturers of textile, food and paper products. One controversy is that the hemp plant comes in several varieties, one of which is related to marijuana. Hemp is illegal to grow in the United States because of its close link to marijuana. The Marijuana Act of 1937 stopped all growth of hemp here in the US.

            Another fact about hemp: It’s pretty pricey! The high cost of the multi-stage processing of hemp, that limited quantities available, and the fact that there is little processing of the fiber in this country, is responsible for its high price, about 100% higher than cotton, and about on par with linen with comparing similar qualities.

            Bamboo…miracle fiber, or not?? In the article titled “Are you being bamboozled”, it gives us the “low down” on what bamboo is really about. It states, the truth is, most “bamboo” textile products, if not all, are really rayon. Rayon is manufactured polymer and is typically made using environmentally toxic chemicals in a process that emits hazardous pollutions into the air. A lot of times we consider bamboo eco-friendly and a pretty good choice on a textile fiber. Who knew a lot of times it’s really rayon that we were looking at. This right here, shows us how easy consumers can be tricked when fumbling through apparel pieces at our favorite store downtown.

            It’s easy to not know the facts about the clothes we are buying. A lot of people aren’t interested in researching this to find out what our apparel pieces are really about. Hemp has its issues, legally, for sure. And we’ve been completely tricked into the greatness of bamboo. But are these fibers that bad, or are we just not educated on them? Miracle fibers may not be the best word to describe these pieces, but I also don’t think hemp and bamboo are the worst things our environment has seen. It’s important for our consumers to be educated on these fibers, and then they can determine their opinions on them. There are legal issues with hemp, and we would need to work with those, but maybe hemp can bring us positive insights that the negative parts about this fiber are hiding now.