Hemp Fabric Vs. Cotton: Exploring Pros and Cons

Posted: 11/27/24 | Author: Lawrence Serbin

With over 30 years of experience in the hemp industry, specifically specializing in hemp fabrics, I have a solid background to share with you the main differences between hemp fabric vs cotton fabrics.

Hemp fabric is touted for better durability, sustainability, mold resistance, and water conservation. Other qualities of hemp include antibacterial properties, absorbency, and non-stretch characteristics, making it a longer-lasting fabric than typical cotton fabrics.

However, one drawback of 100% hemp (in some cases) is roughness, stiffness, and some weaves can wrinkle or crease more easily. Conversely, cotton is versatile, comfortable, and soft. If grown conventionally using genetically modified varieties, it’s more affordable. However, it features excess water utilization and pollutes the environment with its reliance on pesticides and fertilizers.

The choice between hemp fabric and cotton fabric depends on your individual needs, preferences, and concern for the environment. Hemp is a better option when it comes to sustainability, whereas cotton offers affordability.

So let’s dive into the difference between hemp fabric vs cotton.

A Background on Hemp Fabric and Cotton

Hemp Fabric

Cannabis sativa, also known as the hemp plant, is the source of hemp fabric. More specifically, it’s made from the outer bast fiber of the hemp stalks.

Cotton Fabric

On the other hand, you obtain cotton from the Gossypium cotton plant, specifically from the cotton bolls, which are seed pods that burst open when the cotton is ripe.

Environmental Factors

Hemp is a natural product that requires less input, watering, and resources. It produces more fiber per acre than cotton. A byproduct of hemp production is the inner core fiber known as hurd or shives, which can be used as a wood substitute, building material, or animal bedding.

Hemp has excellent antimicrobial properties, high resilience to UV rays, and prolonged durability. Cotton, on the other hand, is popular for its comfortable soft feel. Blending hemp with cotton creates a unique fabric combining the best of both fibers.

Cotton fibers are the top choices in the textiles industry for producing bed linens, clothing, towels, etc., but hemp is becoming more popular every year.

The Pros and Cons of Hemp Fabric vs. Cotton

Durability and Strength

Hemp is generally stronger than cotton, due to its long fiber strands and tensile strength. Once hemp has been shrunk by washing, it will cease to shrink further with wash or use.

Hemp is also somewhat resistant to pilling and hardly gets damaged from wear and tear. Hemp gets softer with use. Hemp doesn’t wear out, it wears in.

A normal cotton T-shirt is more likely to rip, and its average lifespan ranges from about 3-5 years compared to a hemp shirt, which lasts twice as long.

In fact, I have a variety of hemp t-shirts I’ve owned for 10 or more years, and they still feel great and don’t have any holes in them.

Hemp is highly durable and strong because it measures almost double the textile strength of the cotton fabric. Even after hundreds of washes, hemp tends to last a lot longer than cotton and will not degrade as quickly.

Comfort and Softness

Cotton is famous for its softness. However, its fibers degrade and break down gradually, primarily through washing.

Hemp does not break down progressively with washing nearly as quickly. With every washing cycle, its long fibers get softer and maintain their strength and durability.

Antibacterial and Antimicrobial Properties

Hemp is popular for having great antibacterial properties compared to other natural fibers such as cotton. This is due to the structure of the hemp fibers and their ability to be more breathable.

That breathability leads to more oxygen, which helps prevent mold, fungus, and mildew. Hemp activewear has less of an odor from perspiration when compared to cotton.

Retention of Color and UV Resistance

Textiles and clothes normally fade due to sun exposure or UV radiation. Since hemp is naturally resistant to UV, the color of your clothes will not fade as quickly and will remain vibrant.

One of the most distinguished characteristics of hemp fiber is its absorption power, which means that it requires fewer treatment processes from field to fabric. Therefore, dyeing is fast and relatively easy, and hemp fiber retains more color.

While cotton generally appears white, hemp-based fabrics can come naturally in different colors, including creamy white, green, brown, black, or grey. Various colors result from specific methods of growing, harvesting, and processing from the plant stalk.

When a fabric is prepared for dyeing, it’s run through a hydrogen peroxide bleaching process, which helps it take on natural dyes much better. When a fabric is left in its natural state, it stays in its natural color, which is similar to taupe or beige.

Breathability and Moisture Absorption

Cotton became widely used as a staple fabric because of the cotton gin, and hemp being made illegal - we won’t get into that story now, but it’s an important one to learn about when you have some time.

Cotton can tend to absorb body odor while it absorbs moisture and therefore has to be washed more frequently than hemp clothing.

Hemp is a tough competitor to cotton when it comes to absorption and breathability. It has great wicking capabilities and can absorb a large amount of moisture. Hemp fabric helps keep you cool in summer, and protects you against winter cold by having great insulation properties. The hollow hemp fibers absorb the air and act as an insulator.

Hemp vs. Cotton: Which is More Sustainable?

When measured in terms of sustainability, hemp surpasses conventional cotton and even organic cotton by using less water, requiring no pesticides, enriching the soil, and leaving a carbon-negative footprint.

Water Efficiency

Hemp uses on average 20% less water than cotton.

Low Pesticide Use

Hemp is naturally resistant to pests and has no chemicals applied, unlike cotton, which consumes 4.7% of the pesticides worldwide and 10% of insecticides, poisoning our ecosystem.

Soil Health Benefits

Hemp roots are deep and contribute to soil aeration, ensuring biodiversity and preventing soil erosion. Cotton depletes soil nutrients and contributes to erosion.

Carbon Negative Farming

Hemp absorbs more CO₂ during growth, helping to mitigate climate concerns. Its low energy requirements also reduce its environmental impact.

Conclusion: Hemp vs Cotton

Hemp fabric is popular for its high durability, excellent resistance, sustainability, and water-saving properties. It also features antibacterial properties, non-stretch characteristics, and absorbent qualities. However, some hemp fabrics can be a bit more rough, stiff, and higher priced compared to other fibers, since this industry is still very new and boutique. However, when properly conditioned or blended with cotton, the fibers become exceptionally soft.

Cotton is versatile in design and style, provides comfort and softness, and is affordable. However, it has major drawbacks, including excess water requirements, wrinkling, and negative environmental impacts.

The choice between hemp fabric vs. cotton depends on your individual needs and values.

Hemp is a better choice for sustainability, whereas cotton provides affordability.

For improved sustainability and quality, contact Hemp Traders for all your hemp material needs like yarn, fiber, twine, rope, and hemp fabrics to meet your needs.