Fast fashion is often defined as fashion that is made with the intention of being cheap at the expense of quality. In a time of fast fashion companies dominating the industry, the toll on the environment is high and growing. Founded three years ago, Hempsmith is a mission-driven company focused on improving sustainability in the fashion industry.
Hempsmith’s clothing is made of hemp, a durable fiber that is intended to replace cotton. Matt Dunkel, a third-year studying business administration with a concentration in marketing and the head of public relations for Hempsmith, explained that Hempsmith is working to lessen the environmental toll of the fashion industry.
“Hempsmith is a sustainable fashion brand that specializes in hemp/cotton blend shirts and hemp hats,” Dunkel said. “Ultimately, the goal of Hempsmith is to change the textile and fashion industries and make them more sustainable and to make an overall better and healthier planet.”
Centered in Pittsboro, North Carolina, the company claims to be sustainable to the best of its ability. Head Designer Emma Rigby, a third-year studying fashion and textile design , discussed how her design process seeks to minimize waste.
“I did the whole collection from scratch,” Rigby said. “I drafted all of the patterns myself and I did fittings and made prototypes, and then I did the final product. We were trying to do everything 100% sustainably, so we reuse the dye and dye the fabric in the pattern box, and since it’s 100% hemp, that was probably the most sustainable aspect to it.”
The company, with shirts ranging from $25-40 , hopes to make their pieces more affordable with domestically sourced hemp.
“I think Hempsmith is going to absolutely take off in the near future now that the Farm Bill recently passed in December,” Dunkel said. “[The bill] allows for hemp to be grown legally in all 50 states. That will make domestically sourced hemp a lot more affordable and more easily attainable, and I think the ball’s really going to start rolling when that happens.”
The company uses hemp because of its minimal environmental impact. CEO and Co-founder Arlo Estill, a third-year studying fashion and textile management, broke down the many reasons why hemp is more sustainable than cotton.
“The thing about hemp is it’s super sustainable, and it doesn’t require much water to grow and it can be grown organically super easily,” Estill said. “It’s a very durable fiber. There’s a lot of great uses for hemp, and it’s a great alternative to conventional cotton, which tends to be grown with a ton of artificial pesticides and fertilizers. Another great thing about hemp is that it restores the soil.”
Dunkel further explained the differences between cotton and hemp.
“If you have an acre of hemp versus an acre of cotton, the acre of hemp will produce four times as much fiber and will require less than half of the water and far less chemicals than the acre of cotton,” Dunkel said. “In addition to that, it’s also biodegradable — far more so than cotton is. You can do a lot more with it.”
Rigby was excited to explain that all of Hempsmith’s pieces are custom-made.
“You have the basic block clothing, and then you have a custom dye,” Rigby said. “You don’t get more than one of the same thing. So that’s the idea; we’re creating individualized stuff for people to wear for a long time.”
Estill mentioned his interest in experimenting with other hemp products in the future, including hemp plastics.
“Hemp is a very versatile plant,” Estill said. “You can make a lot of cool things out of hemp. What I’m really excited about for the future is hemp plastics. We’d love to go into that and work on hemp water bottles.”
Estill hopes that Hempsmith will make a difference and make that difference long-lasting.
“Hempsmith is definitely more than a clothing company,” Estill said. “We’re mission driven, and our mission is slow fashion. Fast fashion is destroying our planet, and it’s super wasteful. A big part of Hempsmith’s mission is to bring it back and be like, ‘It’s okay to wear the same shirt a few times.’ I want to create quality goods that are going to stay around for a lifetime. I want people giving their Hempsmith clothes to their kids.”
More information about Hempsmith can be found on its website
