The "100% Hemp Denim" that will be released this spring carries the story of weavearth's beginnings.
In early summer 2020, a famous (legendary) overseas designer was looking for "hemp denim"… and we were approached about this. The person who introduced us was an old acquaintance through business, whose meticulous work and generosity had taught us a great deal, so we wanted to live up to his expectations.
At the time, we imagine they were researching both domestically and internationally, not just with us. They said, "There are fabrics called hemp denim, but they all just feel like soft, worn-out cotton…" They had run into a wall, finding none comparable to true cotton denim (the company was using authentic selvedge fabric).
The reason it felt like worn cotton is that the majority of hemp yarns back then were made using the cotton system. Cottonized hemp spun on the cotton system results in a soft, cotton-like texture (even today, many hemp/cotton blend yarns are spun this way).
weavearth does not base its manufacturing on this cotton system. Instead, we use the linen spinning system, creating yarn that preserves hemp’s inherent qualities—firmness and luster. But this approach made the yarn harder to weave, and at that time, research into optimizing finishing processes had not advanced. In 2020, the technology was still immature, and we could not yet meet the demands of globally recognized designers.
By this spring, three years had passed. The designer who had once sought hemp denim passed away on December 29, 2022. We had hoped someday he could see and handle weavearth’s hemp denim, but that will not come to pass. Still, without his inquiry, we might never have struggled with—and fully researched—these challenging, new-generation hemp yarns. With respect and gratitude, we will release weavearth 100% hemp denim in spring 2023.
