Why hemp? A brief history of the use of hemp

Hemp is one of the oldest and most versatile, cultivated plants known to humanity. It has been an economically important deliverer of fibres, food and medicine for more than six thousand years. Hemp was grown in almost all European and Asian countries and posed an important , if not maybe the most important raw material for making ropes, canvas, textiles for clothes, paper and oil products. The historic significance of hemp as a raw material is also based on it’s usage as a technical textile. In this area, hanf has written history repeatedly.

In China just about 2.800 B.C, the first rope in the world was twisted out of hemp fibres and at the same time, the first paper was created out of hemp. There are indications that in the 28^th century B.C. China, clothes were also made out of hemp fibres.  The oldest, preserved textile is dated back to approx. 1000 B.C. In the 17^th century at the pinnacle of sailing, hemp experienced it’s heyday in Europe. Because of it being tearproof and it’s wet strength almost all ship’s sails and all rigging, ropes, nets, flags, and even the uniforms of the seamen were made of hemp. Every two years ships required between 50 and 100 tons of hemp fibres for standard equipment. Into the 18^th century hemp fibres together with flax, nettle und wool were the central raw materials of the European textile industry. For paper production, pulp was produced out of rags.

The decline of the German and European hemp industry began in the 18th century and continued well ‘till the end of the 20^th century, at which time, hemp became nearly insignificant – only recently, interest in hemp has revived strongly. Reasons for the downfall: because of the cotton spinnery industrialisation,  cotton commenced a victorious, worldwide conquest. The strong reduction of sailing then hit the hemp industry additionally.  After the middle of the 19^th century, when making pulp out of wood was invented, hemp then lost its significance for the paper industry.  Finally, the European hemp fibers were pressured by imported fibers e.g. jute, sisal, abaca and hemp from Russia; in the 20^th century, synthetic fibers conquered most remaining technical fields of application.

At the same time, because of the marijuana prohibition, commercial hemp was put under pressure: in many countries hemp, regardless if commercial or drug hemp, was prohibited and remains partially forbidden today. Only since the 90ties, the prohibition for commercial hemp was lifted in many countries and those new areas of use became popular, where hemp fibres for technical, ecological and economical reasons, could capture new markets. Hemp seed was also rediscovered in the 90ties and new products such as hulled hemp seed were subsequently developed.