Q: What makes hemp superior to other natural fibers?

A: One of the clearest points to be made about hemp fabric is its ability to provide the performance of synthetics without sacrificing the gentle feel of cotton, not to mention the smiles from environmentalists tired of pesticides, polluted water and a deepening petroleum dependency. Another thing to know about hemp fibers—they last almost forever.

Just last year it was discovered that hemp fabrics were used almost 10,000 years ago in Çatalhöyük, the oldest to date. It’s there an archaeological team unearthed a baby skeleton wrapped in hemp-weaved linen, telling us a little more about the cannabis plant and its long cultural history in Middle East and Mediterranean regions. It wouldn’t be until the Renaissance that the hemp fiber caught fire in the West. Until the latest discovery, the most dated evidence came from imprints found on ancient Chinese pottery from the 5th millennium BC.

Click here to read the full post on Recreator.