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Sustainable Fashion For Everyday Wear: Hemp Clothing Australia
Our new Hemp Clothing is finally here!
I'm so excited to release our new hemp capsule that includes classic pieces made from high-quality natural fibres. I don't have a team of designers or sourcing agent. I'm not from the fashion world, so I've had a lot to learn. There has been a great deal of thought, effort, and care put into this range. Why, you ask would you go into fashion? I'm actually not a fan of fashion in general. I respect the art of creating and designing garments that fit beautifully and are functional, but I despise fast fashion and what it has become. It's ugly, excessive and made up of mostly synthetic fibres. I want to wear clothes that breathe. I want to wear clothes that are made up of natural fibres. I've learned a lot about the environmental benefits of industrial hemp and its ancient use in textiles and to this day cannot find a comparable fabric that is as environmentally friendly as hemp.
I've learned a lot about the durability and antimicrobial properties of hemp. Hemp wears in, not out and is comfortable, breathable, durable, antibacterial and anti-stink which means you will wear your pieces for a lot longer in between washes. This is one of hemps best qualities and once you use hemp, you quickly realise the difference between wearing natural fibres like hemp over synthetic fabrics.
Meeting our makers
I recently travelled to China to visit our clothing makers so that I could finalise our next hemp clothing capsule. Sometimes a lot can get lost in translation when developing products, which is why I decided to go over and spend some time with our makers (translator in tow). Initially, I wanted to learn more about the process of making our clothes and inspect the factory and working conditions which I did, but as an unplanned bonus, I got to connect with our makers on a personal level, learning about their families, their education, food and culture. I had so much fun and it was an incredible experience.
What is the process of making our sustainable hemp clothing?
What may surprise you (or at least it did me) is that our garments change hands quite a lot before they're finished and ready to transport to your mailbox. That's why it's so important to meet our makers across every touchpoint to make sure we are truly producing sustainable and ethical clothing.
1. Design, Tech Pack and Patterns
The first step to making clothes is the design phase where I designed each of the styles and the hemp fabrics we would use. Then our pattern maker constructs the technical pack with all the make details, measurements, grading, colours, finishes, logos and label positioning. When all of the measurements and details are confirmed, the technicians need to calculate the degree of shrinkage once the garment is dyed and washed. This is then taken into account and the patterns are made and physically printed.
2. Cutting & Sewing
The patterns are then taken to the cutting room where each piece of the garment is cut before passing on to the sewing department that stitches all the pieces of the garment together. It's a very interesting process to see garments un-dyed and quite a lot larger than what they'll be at the end of the make process!
3. Dying
Once all the clothes have been stitched into garments, they are sent to the dye house which is a completely separate factory with specialised dying vats.
We use Oeko-Tex 100 certified low impact fibre reactive dyes to dye our hemp clothes. Reactive dyes are a sustainable and eco-friendly option for textile dyeing. They chemically react with natural fibres like hemp, cotton, silk, and wool to form a strong and permanent bond, resulting in brighter and more vibrant colours that require less dye. Reactive dyes are also less toxic and do not contain heavy metals, which can harm the environment and textile workers. When used and disposed of properly, reactive dyes are not toxic and offer a more effective and sustainable option for textile dyeing. Our hemp and organic cotton garments shrink up to 15% in this phase!
Softening agents are also applied to the garments in this phase. Softening agents
3. Washing
Once dyed, our garments are sent to the wash house. It is here where the garments are washed of an excess dye before applying our signature snow wash effect.
Snow wash is a unique process where once dyed, our garments are placed in a large vat filled with pumice stones. No water is used during this process. The garments are then rotated around with the pumice stones, where after about 15 minutes, the colour is worn away from the friction points on the garments. This gives each garment a unique, worn look which we love and apply to all of our garments. The garments are then washed and dried ready for labelling.
4. Labeling
In this phase our care labels are attached to each garment as well as our branding. We actually have one factory that makes our woven labels and another that does our silicone and rubber heat transfer labels.
5. Packing and quality checks
This is the final stage of preparing our garments. Each piece is checked by our technicians to make sure they are measuring correctly. Once approved, they are ironed and folded before being placed in our compostable polybags.
6. Dispatch
Now our products are ready to be packed into cartons shipped to Australia! As you can see, the process of making clothes is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of touch points and if there's a glitch in communication, things can go terribly wrong which is why it was a great experience to be there with our makers and see each of the processes.
Our NEW Range Of Hemp Products
Our exciting new hemp activewear is released in colour ways inspired by nature. Otways Green, Sky Pink, Black Ash, Ocean Blue and Ochre. Our sizing is available from XS-XXL. A lot of our styles are unisex but the sizing is true to female sizing so if you're a male, we suggest you size up one size from your regular size.
Our sustainable hemp clothing include:
1. Our much loved Hemp Oversized Hoodie.
We've made this a little longer in the body than our original style and increased our sizing to XXL. We've also lined the hood and changed the fabric to a brushed fleece which is softer on the skin. You're going to love it.
2. Hemp Crew Sweater
New to our basic hemp collection and a sweater for him or her that you are going to live in! It features dropped shoulders and a boxy shape that looks good on anyone.
3. Hemp Jogger
They're back! The comfiest jogger you will ever wear. We've deepened the pockets on this version and added a little more length in the legs. We've also switched to a brushed fleece to make them extra soft and cosy!
4. Slim Fit Jogger
Say hello to the ultimate yoga pants! For him or her, this design is made from our Hemp Stretch fabric which is both breathable and flexible and perfect for cold winter morning jogs or your favourite yoga flow. Like the name suggests, is a more fitted and slim cut with deep front pockets.
5. 7/8 Hemp Leggings
Ladies - these leggings are next level. Made from our Hemp Stretch fabric, these leggings 300gsm so they will give you full coverage whilst you benefit from the breathable qualities of hemp and organic cotton. They have pockets on both sides, a high waist and cut that is flattering on all body types. These hemp leggings run at 7/8 length, so that they're not too long if you're on the shorter side and at the shin if you're taller. A nice compromise for every body type.
6. Hemp Crop Top
We are excited about this one! Finally a crop top with fixed cups so that you don't have to fiddle with them come laundry time. This crop is also made from our Hemp Stretch fabric which means it's going to be supportive whether you're busty or not! It features an elegant scoop back and comfortable shoulder straps. This is going to be your future favourite sport bra!
7. Hemp Bike shorts
We've slightly refined our bike shorts from the original design and kept them in our Hemp Stretch fabric that you all love. Breathable, simple, high waisted and a flattering fit is what these bike shorts deliver.
8. Hemp Raglan Tee
We love this tee with raglan sleeves and scoop back. We've made it a little longer than our original design but kept the light weight hemp and organic cotton jersey that is breathable, soft and anti-stink.
9. Oversized Unisex Tee
Everyone loves a slouchy tee which is why we had to include this style to the line up. It is gender neutral and looks good on everyone. It's also made from light weight hemp and organic cotton jersey that is breathable, soft and anti-stink.
10. Hemp Women's Tee
This is your classic tee for women - one everyone looks forward to wearing in their wardrobe and will be with you for a very long time. It's also made from light weight hemp and organic cotton jersey that is breathable, soft and anti-stink.
11. Hemp Muscle Tank
The greatest tank for the most active people. This tank is perfect for any exercise and looks great on him or her. We made this version longer than our original style and slightly wider across the chest and back. It's also made from light weight hemp and organic cotton jersey that is breathable, soft and anti-stink.
Why switch to hemp clothing?
It has never been a better time to switch to hemp fabric and sustainable materials.
Hemp in particular is our hero and source of inspiration. The hemp plant uses less water to grow, it feeds nutrients back to soil and is carbon negative - which means it absorbs more CO2 from the air than what is used to process it. At the end of its life, your hemp clothing will completely biodegrade within 6-months.
Once you've worn hemp fabric, you will experience its premium qualities and you will naturally gravitate towards wearing your amazing hemp items over other pieces in your wardrobe. In exchange, it will continue to love and comfort you back, getting even more soft with age whilst retaining its original shape and fit.
We want our clothes to live with you for a really long time. We're not into fashion, we don't follow seasons or trends and we don't make or release large quantities of clothing. We're slow to release for a reason. We want to disrupt the need for new. Our pieces are more like friends, the kind you have forever.
We hope you agree, that the benefits of hemp make hemp fabrics the material of choice in slow ethical fashion. We hope you love our new Australian hemp clothing range as it's made with a lot of love and care.
Head to our collection of Hemp Clothing.
