In 1991, Patagonia famously conducted an audit of all of the materials in their product line, finding cotton to their surprise to be the most environmentally impactful. This discovery spurred a revolution; no industry existed at the time for organic cotton, but Patagonia was determined to eradicate harmful pesticides from its cotton production process. With the cooperation of a big box store -- who, after some coercion, agreed to invest in making 1% of their styles with organic cotton -- Patagonia was able to grow organic cotton production enough to erase all non-organic new cotton material from its products.

Patagonia Island Hemp Beach Pants Regular Women's
Island Hemp Beach Pants Regular Women's

Over the past few years, Patagonia has been in the business of pushing another revolution, this time with the goal of reinvigorating the American hemp industry. Hemp, a viable fiber for textiles, offers a number of benefits over the fiber of the previous revolution. It only uses around 20% of the water that it would take to grow the same amount of cotton; it can be grown on the same land, without rotation, for fourteen years without depleting the soil or lessening yield; it requires less fertilizer; and it is four times stronger than cotton. Hemp is a more sustainable and more durable product, and blended with Patagonia’s organic cotton and with the progression of processing techniques, it has become softer and more comfortable with every passing season.

Historically, cannabis was a common crop and staple of American agriculture. Its cultivation was required of colonists; the declaration of independence was printed on hemp paper, and in the twentieth century, inventors like Henry Ford were experimenting with hemp-oil fueled engines and new age materials that included hemp cellulose.

Though the future seemed bright in the ‘40s for the incorporation of hemp into nearly every aspect of American consumption, it was quickly squashed by forceful opposition due to its similarity to its psychoactive cousin. Despite agricultural hemp crops’ incredibly low content of THC (less than 0.3%) it was lumped in with cannabis loaded with 20-to-30%-THC, and the two were banned outright in the United States in 1970; the baby was thrown out with the bathwater.

Patagonia Lightweight All-Wear Hemp Shorts 10
Lightweight All-Wear Hemp Shorts 10" Men's

Some believe this to be an effect of the conspiratorial lobbying of the oil industry, taking out its natural and fast-growing competitor by misleading the public and using this misinformation to erase the hemp-based economy and make way for petroleum. Whatever the intention was and from whomever it came, the effect has been the same: a sustainable material was banned and put aside, and plastics and less environmentally-friendly products gained popularity and market share. With the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, however, cultivation of hemp has been re-legalized in the United States. Patagonia thinks it is time to reverse some of the damage that has been done, and to push for big steps into the future of the country’s agriculture and fiber industries.

One way to do this is by investing what resources we can on our own, hence the expanded line of hemp products for Spring 2019. Patagonia hopes that this increases business in the hemp industry, giving cause for its expansion, and enticing third parties to invest further themselves. Those compelled only by profit may still be convinced by the potential for it to do the right thing.

Patagonia Trail Harbor Tee Women's
Trail Harbor Tee Women's

Another way is to work from the top down, rather from the bottom up. We have seen success in this way with political rallying for hemp farming coming to fruition in the Farm Bill. We hope to continue to watch this systemic revolution happen in farms across America. Patagonia has been sourcing our (organically grown) hemp from China for years; uninterrupted legal production has allowed our farms there to develop their production methods beyond those of countries in which the crop has been banned. The United States here are decades behind. It will take time for America to catch up, but Patagonia has faith in existing small farmers and producers, and the capacity for consumers and voters to make their voices heard. Growing and processing hemp closer to home and our primary market will only lessen our impact further, and make hemp more accessible to other interested brands in the market, just as organic cotton grew throughout the nineties.

In more ways than one, in order to step forward, we need to step back; whether that means using older, less environmentally-intensive and impactful farming techniques, or taking advantage of time-tested, but contemporarily less-popular fibers, or even recalling how things were before certain legislation. We should not forget the examples which exist as a part of our history as we look to our future.

- Charlie Dayon,
Patagonia Burlington

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