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Australian Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Allied Industries
Hemp fibre
In the Area of study: Australian Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Allied Industries you will investigate and debate a range of issues impacting on the textile industry. One of the current issues affecting the industry is finding clean green alternatives for fibre production. Hemp fibre offers a possible alternative.
Outcomes
This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus
outcome:
H5.2 The student investigates and describes aspects of
marketing in the textile industry
H5.2 The student analyses and discusses the impact of
current issues on the Australian textiles industry.
Source: Board of Studies NSW, Stage 6 Textiles and
Design Syllabus, Preliminary and HSC Courses
(2007)
Hemp background information
Hemp is the plant cannabis sativa. Which means useful hemp.
Apart from needing little fertilizer or pesticides to grow, hemp is a deep rooted plant which helps prevent soil erosion. Unlike many plants hemp can be grown on the same soil with little nutrient loss. Cotton for example uses half of all pesticides used in the United States. It also needs high levels of fertilizer and is hard on soils.
There are two parts of the hemp stalk, the:
- bast and
- hurd.
The bast or fibre can be twisted to form ropes and twine and woven or knitted into cloth. The fabric produced is very durable. When Levi Strauss made the first pair of jeans he used hemp for its durability.
Harvesting hemp is similar to that of flax. When the leaves drop the stalks are cut down and allowed to lie in the field to be washed by the rain and to soften. The stalks are turned at least once. The process, as with flax is called retting. When the hurd has softened the stalk is placed in a machine to separate the bast and the hurd.
Activity
- Why is hemp able to grow with little or no pesticide or
herbicide?
- Have consumers shown an interest in hemp products? Why
do you think this is?
- Explain why hemp is only being promoted for fabric and
not paper.
- Explain why fibre hemp farming may be appealing to
cotton farmers.
- Make a list of environmental benefits of growing hemp.
- Suggest a marketing strategy that could be used for
hemp.
- Debate or write a 200 word discussion on the following
topic:
Hemp fibre farming is more environmentally sustainable than organic cotton.
You may like to read the tutorial on organic cotton first.
Knitted hemp fabric in surfboards
Surfboard makers in Sydney and Byron Bay are making fibreglass-free surfboards, which are instead sheathed in a knitted hemp fabric, sourced from Eastern Europe, Nepal and China, and knitted in Melbourne. The surfboards also have biodegradable polystyrene cores and biodegradable resins which have minimal environmental effect when they break down. Although they are still toxic materials - research into hemp surfboard blanks and glues continues. With more than 80,000 surfboards built annually and enormous health hazards associated with traditional surfboard manufacture, this is a great step ahead. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06/oceangreens_eco.php
2/4/01
Activity
If you live on the coast contact a local surf shop to find out if they are selling hemp surfboards. If you can, go and take a look at one and compare it to a fibreglass board. Find out how the strength and weight compares with fibreglass.
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