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Where to Find Hemp Fashion in 2021

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Natural fabric blends, including those with hemp, are one of the up and coming trends that has come out of 2020, the year with no fashion shows. Fashion designers have been forced to slow down and rethink their industry and business models. Consumers have also been forced to be more mindful and change their shopping habits. At large, this could be great news for the planet and the hemp textile and fashion industry.

While the average person may be just starting to read the labels on their clothing, there is a sub-population that is already intentionally experiencing the advantages and luxuriousness of hemp. There are also a growing number of fashion makers who are using mostly hemp in their creations.

In 2021 most clothes available to the masses are made with plastic. You have to really search online to find fashion made with hemp and other eco-friendly textiles.

There are many boutique maker shops to be found on Etsy from around the world where you can get a wide variety of handmade hemp clothing, accessories, and home decor. For the most part I have had good luck on Etsy finding well-made, unique, and fashionable hemp clothes. That being said, I also feel like I have had to swim through a lot of fashion makers that are using hemp but not designing styles I would wear.

eBay finds: Vintage Adidas and Nike Hemp Sneakers

On ebay, I have found deals on designer European dress clothes and accessories. Italian, French and other European designers are known for using hemp fabrics in their canvas and jean fabrics. Look closely when you see Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Louis Vuitton…or any fashion coming out of Europe. Unlike the US and many following countries, some nations never banned the production of hemp for textiles so their industries continue and have been able to preserve the craft of turning plants into beautiful fashions.

Hemp silk nightgown, made in China.

There is Amazon which appears to be a limited source of Chinese hemp fashion. China has been growing hemp and using it in textiles for centuries and still leads the way in making fabrics with hemp, cotton, and plastic. My hemp fashion purchases made in China thus have included a pair of sneakers, a bikini, and some hemp silk tops.

Then there are the now infamous Hemp Hoodlamb coats, clothing, and accessories; designed in Amsterdam, and made in China using hemp, organic cotton, and recycled plastic bottles. While this company recently declared bankruptcy and closed their doors for good, they had been producing high quality clothes from hemp, organic cotton, and recycled plastic bottles for over two decades.

Tips to Help You Buy Hemp Clothes Online:

  1. Read labels closely to learn where your clothes were manufactured and what exactly they are made of. Anything you are buying online should be able to provide a picture of this label and give you the type of fabric blend. I’ve found plenty of hemp clothes that are made with a blend of non-organic cotton and polyester.
  2. Search a variety of shopping sources with “hemp” as a keyword. Consider also looking with other languages (ie. canapa, canva, chanvre, hanf, hamp, hampa)
  3. Read the description very closely. Sometimes the word hemp is used in the item title but there is no hemp in the fabric blend.

While hemp and other natural textiles are currently more expensive and less plentiful than polyester/acrylic blends, the slow trend for big brands and designers to put out eco-friendly collections that reduce their large ecological footprint will eventually happen. Until then it is up to you and me to be conscientious consumers as we drive our own desired market.

Feed Your Endocannabinoid System With Cannabis Apple Ginger Juice

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One of my favorite findings from 8+ years of experimenting with raw cannabis in my diet is noticing how it affects my tolerance for other ingestion methods used in my overall medical cannabis regimen.

Before supplementing with dietary cannabis I was using inhaled cannabis throughout the day along with with 2-3 THC/CBD infused edibles, rarely feeling like I was too ‘high’ while taking relatively large doses.

After supplementing with dietary cannabis I could no longer tolerate the doses I was taking and before long I no longer felt a need to consume the infused edibles for pain or sleep on a daily basis. I also noticed that I was ‘full’ with a couple of puffs of inhaled cannabis rather than feeling like I could take more all day long.

Feeling my tolerance go down to the chronic pain medicine I take regularly is nothing short of amazing and opened my eyes to the possibilities of consuming cannabis for the nutritional benefits as something to strive for in my consumption to be healthy and well.

In all of this experimenting I created a seasonal cannabis juice recipe that tastes like a refreshing, spicy treat for the senses as it saturates your endocannabinoid system.

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Cannapple Ginger Juice

-30 grams of fresh raw cannabis leaves

-1 small handful of fresh mint

-1 apple

-1 inch piece of raw ginger

1) Rinse and soak cannabis leaves and mint in cool water for a few minutes before juicing. Prep your apple and ginger to fit into your juicer, as needed.

2) Put all ingredients through your juicer.

3) Serve over ice and take time to really smell your juice as you drink it.

Makes one serving.

Cheers to your health!

Quadruple Hemp and Buckwheat Seed Bread

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Bread is currently so in fashion again that baking supplies could soon become more valuable than gasoline. Carbs be damned, the keto diet trend shall be on hold until 2021 when the daily uniform is no longer sweatpants.

I too jumped on the bandwagon of bread making while in isolation although I will be the first to tell you that the bread I made is nothing like wheat flour bread. Its hearty, crunchy, chewy goodness sticks to the ribs and provides energy for hours.

It’s gluten free. Because my digestive system does not tolerate gluten. I used a sprouted buckwheat flour and mixed it with a little cassava flour to give it some chewy texture alongside the heartiness of buckwheat. This combo provides protein, fiber, and hours of energy.

It’s yeast free. Mix and bake, you’ll have fresh bread in less than an hour.

It’s dairy free. Because I don’t eat dairy. I used hemp milk as a liquid. You could likely use any liquid in a pinch.

It’s egg free. Because eggs are in short supply for some and not an acceptable food for others. Using chia seeds soaked in a little liquid acts as a binder and provides a slow release of energy for hours.

This bread contains four kinds of hemp. Because I put hemp into everything. Hemp protein powder, hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, and hemp seed milk. Hemp is a fantastic source of energy that is rich in fiber and protein and essential fatty acids that are easy to digest.

I share the following recipe with love. Something to nourish your body which includes your brain.

Pre-baked

The Quadruple Hemp and Buckwheat Seed Bread

  • 2C sprouted buckwheat flour
  • 1/3C cassava flour
  • 1t xanthan gum (optional, it helps act as a binder.)
  • 3t baking powder
  • 1.5t salt
  • 4T hemp protein powder
  • 1/3C hemp seeds
  • 1C hemp milk
  • 1/4C water
  • 4T hempseed oil
  • 1t apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3C mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
  • 2.5T chia seeds mixed with 5T water
  1. Wash your hands.
  2. Mix chia seeds with water and once seeds have become a gel (about 5 minutes) combine with all wet ingredients.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
  4. Combine wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir until fully combined.
  5. Press mixture into a parchment paper lined or silicone bread pan.
  6. Bake at 375F for 40 minutes until it is brown on top and the knife comes out clean when you stick it in the center.

If you happen to start cutting into it and the center is too soft, put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Consider adding fresh herbs and garlic or cinnamon and raisins to mix things up.

If you don’t plan on eating the whole thing in a few days, slice it up and freeze it.

Take care.

Double Coconut Hemp Cookies is Where I’m At

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As I write this, a batch of hemp cookies are in the oven. I will share the recipe if they are good. If they don’t work out, I will likely eat them over the sink feeling like a disappointment for losing at baking while watching YouTube reviews of Tiger King.

I’m in about week 4 or so of being shutdown for the Covid-19 world health crisis. Being asked to change my life plans because of a pandemic has sparked all sorts of things in my schedule and in my mental health. The fact that I am baking today and feeling creative and positive about the future is worth writing about.

The past few weeks have been as dark most blondes’ roots. I’ve had days feeling like we need to be getting ready for the NEXT natural disaster, for the much bigger apocalyptic experience I was told would happen as a child growing up in a doomsday cult. I’m so grateful that this is not that and most will survive regardless of faith. Regardless, I am prepared to live through this.

I was supposed to start a new job this week but my new boss has not returned my messages so… ya. Nothing new in the cannabis industry but a let down none the less considering it is an essential service and every business could and should be rocking it out of the park once they figure out how to mitigate viral spread.

My fantastic husband, who is managing to keep a somewhat regular schedule and maintaining his hobbies, suggested I write down what I want to do with this week, this month, this year, 5 years, etc. It helped to bring things back into focus.

I’ve been exercising, eating healthy, staying hydrated, meditating, getting good sleep, and taking care of the apartment Victory Garden as past of my current 2020 survival lifestyle. I’m reaching out to keep tabs on my people and that is also helping to ground me, knowing that I am not alone.

I’ve also apparently been craving coconut. So I made cookies,they turned out, and I must be a winner at life. If you are baking these days, please enjoy.

Double Coconut Hemp Cookies

  • 1C shredded coconut, unsweetened
  • 1C almond flour
  • 1/4 C hemp seeds
  • 4T coconut sugar
  • 1t vanilla
  • 2T water
  • 1/4C chopped chocolate, or chips

Wash your hands. Mix dry and wet ingredients with washed hands or a spoon until fully combined. Roll into 12 balls and flatten into a round cookie shape. Bake at 350F for 10-14 minutes.

Stay safe out there. And remember to Wash Your Damn Hands.

Searching For Hemp Fashion In The Cannabis Industry

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Since attending my first Seattle Hempfest in 2011, I’ve been looking for the clothes that they are saying from the stages can be made with hemp. I attend several cannabis conferences and events every year and rarely do I see much for hemp fashion or even marketing swag made of hemp. So I ask, Where is all the hemp fashion in the cannabis industry?

Now, I get it, there is no infrastructure in the Americas for large scale hemp fabric and textile production. Nor is there any kind of major hemp fiber production happening by the farmers besides maybe growing test plots to find potential fiber cultivars that will fair well in their terroir. Hemp is still in this bizarre CBD craze phase that is a monetary distraction from its millions of other potential uses. The hope is that the money made from hemp CBD will further the development of what else is possible with hemp biomass.

Continuing my search for people selling or wearing hemp at a cannabis event led me to the recent Lift&Co cannabis conference in Vancouver, BC. There was one vendor to be found out of the hundreds that had hemp clothing. Flying High Cannabis was a local brand that had a small collection of casual wear along with with their cannabis accessories.

While at the show, I asked about 100 people if they were wearing hemp. 7 people had something hemp on. Besides the guy who knew that he was wearing all wool, most people had no idea what their clothes were made of despite knowing that it wasn’t hemp. This ratio and reaction is the usual result.

I have happily never met a person at a cannabis event that did not already know that clothes could be made of hemp which is more than I can say for many when I bring up the idea of eating their plants raw.

Last year at the Emerald Cup I was fortunate to have met Hoodlamb Hemp Tailors in person at their booth where they had a huge selection of clothes and offering trade show discount prices. They have been one of my favorite hemp fashion designers because they can also be actively found doing other valuable things in the cannabis industry space.

It is often the old school advocates and growers of the cannabis crowd that are culturally choosing to wear hemp.

Back to calling for a hemp fashion revolution. The change is already happening. People are shopping at thrift shops at a much higher rate than ever before and, according to Vogue, the current high fashion trends are pointing towards a future of eco-fashion.

There are a lot of good fashion designers using hemp but you really have to look for them. Online shopping sites, like Etsy, can connect you to small slow fashion designers around the world making your clothes to order. The tough side is that you will pay more for those clothes than you may be used to if you tend to frugally shop fast fashion or thrift stores.

You likely don’t want to pay more for your clothes but choosing eco-friendly hemp clothing sends a message to the fashion financial world that people are hungry for a revolution. If clothes can be seen as a type of investment worth keeping and using rather letting them slip into a cycle where most of them end up in a landfill, we might be able to create change.

Proper hemp fashion could save your money from being used create more pollution and tragic suffering for the workers that make clothes.

Saying Goodbye to Synthetic Fashion and Hello to Hemp

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I once went to a birthday party where the theme was to wear something plastic. Me, getting literal, showed up to a downtown club wearing a blue garbage bag, Saran Wrap, clear plastic high heels, and a Ziplock bag purse. Other people were warmly dressed and casually sporting a plastic belt or shoes.

If I knew then what I know now, I could have went to that party straight from work in my Lycra spandex day uniform of a jogging suit and been a lot warmer.

Turns out most of the clothes I have been wearing for most of my life are made partially or entirely with synthetic fibers and I have been oblivious as to what that means or how that impacts the environment.

I quit shopping fast fashion at malls a long time ago and shifted to vintage and thrift shopping for clothes and accessories with the exception to knickers and footwear. I managed to create a whole cycle where I would clean out the clothes in my closet that I no longer wear or want to keep and donate them to good will. Then I would take a trip to my favorite thrift shops and go on a mini shopping spree for unique clothes I couldn’t find at the mall.

If I’m being honest, my shopping patterns made it easy to bring some things into my closet that I never wore because it was a good deal and was appealing on the rack. I wasn’t really thinking about the life that piece might have after I was done with it.

Then I heard the statistic that the average person throws away the equivalent of 44 tshirts a year. I don’t think I was going through that many clothes but I also wasn’t cognisent to where they went after I donated them.

50% of donated clothes end up in a landfill.

I dislike the thought that half of my old clothes are just sitting in a landfill not breaking down until long after my body has died and broken down.

So, I have become much more textile conscious. I’m now reading the label of everything and attempting to only bring in clothes that are long term keepers and made with hemp.

I initially set out with a vision to create a head to toe hemp outfit and then eventually an all hemp wardrobe. I can’t say that my closet is all hemp but I can say that I wear some kind of hemp everyday.

Finding hemp clothes that I find fashionable has been a task. I’ve managed to score some things from Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, or directly from the designers but many of the things I want don’t exist and I will have to custom make.

That being said, I was excited to recently discover some European fashion designers who have never stopped using hemp, they just didn’t advertise it after prohibition happened during the 1930s in America. I’ll be posting more about that very soon.

Stay tuned! Choose Hemp!

The Little Hemp Cookie That Could

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I’m going into my ninth year living gluten free and dairy free. In that time I have also had phases of going egg free, corn free, night shade free, etc…I regularly practice how to be free.

One thing I still experience is the ‘loneliness’ of being one of the people at the party with dietary restrictions. Imagine being a foodie surrounded by mountains of food that you can really just look at and watch other people eat while they may or may not comment on how and what you are eating compared to everybody else. Then, every gracious host will try to make something that will suit your diet, getting it right 7/10 times.

I’ve had more than one occasion where somebody I adore will specifically make for me a gluten free dessert but that still has dairy in it. Should I eat it even though it will make me feel slightly cruddy in the short term and very cruddy in the long term? Saying no to food kindness is extremely hard and socially awkward for me still after all this time.

When the holiday cookie season rolls around I would like to be treated, like everybody else, to a hot, chewy, crispy, sweet cookie too. I just request that cookie to not be rough on my digestive system and body.

Meet the Little Hemp Cookie that you can likely eat if you don’t eat gluten, dairy, or eggs.

Like a great little black dress, the little hemp cookie can be ready to go within minutes and can also be dressed up for special occasions. For its unveiling, I give you the chocolate chunk version.

The Little Hemp Cookie

Chocolate Chunk Version

Yield: 12 cookies

  • 1C almond flour
  • 1/2t baking powder
  • 3T coconut sugar
  • sprinkle of salt
  • 1/4C hempseed hearts
  • 2T water
  • 1t vanilla extract
  • 1/4C chopped dark chocolate
  • 1/4C chopped pecans

Mix all dry ingredients. Sprinkle wet ingredients onto mixture and stir until halfway blended. Sprinkle in nuts and chocolate and finish stirring completely. Spoon onto a silicone or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten or shape as desired. Bake at 350F for 10-14 minutes until lightly browned and somewhat firm to the touch. Remove from oven and cool slightly before enjoying with tea and hemp milk.

By the way, this cookie dough is safe to eat from the bowl and the cookies will freeze great if they make it that far.

Let me know how they turned out for you!

Change Your Clothes, Change The Climate?

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My muse, dressed head to toe in hemp fabrics.

Do you know what the clothes you wear are made of or why it matters?

The reason I bring this topic here is because I feel there is a lack of urgency and education by the general population around the unsustainable fashion industry. This somewhat alarms me. It doesn’t matter if you go to the high end designer brands, the fast fashion knockoffs, or the second hand clothing stores, our fashion choices have been generally reduced to synthetic options. Most of those clothes inevitably end up in a landfill and will outlive their owners.

The average American throws away 70 lbs of clothing each year.

  • Clothes made with synthetic fabrics are literally made of petroleum. Once thrown away, those clothes do not break down for hundreds of years.
  • Synthetic textiles have microfibers that break off in the wash and get sent into our water systems.
  • Pollution is created from pesticides used on fiber crop production and the chemical processing of fabrics.
  • The industry chain of factory workers, fabric producers, fashion designers, fashion buyers, the retailers, consumers, and disposal workers who are all exposed to chemicals.

Not all people think to look at what kind of fabric their clothes are made of as part of their purchasing decisions or what the life of that garment will have in their closet.

Where do your old clothes end up?

I have to be honest, when I tuned in to the atrocity of synthetic clothes I was shocked to discover that most of my own closet was filled with them. Cycling through them was no longer an option for me.

While it is amazing that technology figured out how to turn oil into cheap clothing this invention comes with its own set of interesting statistics that are worth investigating.

  1. The average American buys 68 new articles of clothing per year.
  2. The average piece of clothing is only worn 3 times or less.
  3. About half of the clothes that are donated to thrift stores are thrown away.

Personally, I have responded by updating my fashion habits. I have generally stopped buying new clothes. I shop vintage, thrift, consignment, and craft in an effort to find original, quality clothes I can’t find anywhere else.

I try not to go too crazy at the thrift shop because things are cheap and I no longer think of it as the first choice for my clothes to get donated to.

I read all the labels. I used to only really pay attention to size, care instructions, and where they were made but now I also scrutinize what they are made of.

As a long term project, I am slowly bringing new pieces into my wardrobe as needed that are made of hemp fabrics. I have been inspired to start sewing again to make my own hemp fashions that I literally can’t buy.

Stay tuned.

In 2020 I will be posting a series of blog posts and videos that highlight hemp fashion you might want to wear, hemp food recipes you might want to make. If you can think of hemp fashions and designers that I should know about and be highlighting, please let me know!

For those of you still following from the start, I had to take 2019 off from my blog and creating to recalibrate. In 2020 I will be posting weekly again. You can expect posts about hemp fashion, hemp food recipes, medical cannabis, scoliosis, and ideas to keep yourself healthy. Peace.

Cannabis Use For The Healthy Conscious

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Up until recently cannabis has had but two types of stereotypical users, sick people and stoners. Both of those uses are very appropriate for the cannabis plant but please let me shed more light on a giant sector of people who are about to step into the circle now that it is becoming legal more places…the health conscious.

Here is what, cannabis is a natural, non-toxic supplement for your endocannabinoid system, the same system that you boost every time you exercise, get good sleep, and stop to smell the roses (terpenes).

What does it look like to use cannabis for your health if you are not trying to get classically stoned or treat a serious illness?

Let me give you a few suggestions on how to use it. I have been using cannabis daily for about 8 years and while some of that time has been managing chronic health conditions and certainly involved feeling its effects at higher doses, a large portion of my cannabis use is about getting the most from the plant with the smallest serving necessary.

5 Ways To Use Cannabis In Your Healthy Lifestyle:
  1. Use Cannabis Infused Topicals. Your skin is your largest organ and a wonderful way to get cannabinoids to your CB2 receptors which will not be intoxicating but can help to regulate your body’s functions. Try a cannabis infused bath before bed, an all over infused lotion after the shower, or take your favorite infused massage oil to your masseuse and enjoy the next level of relaxation. Choose a topical with the terpenes you want to affect you as well.
  2. Drink your cannabis greens. If you are able to grow your own or some how have access to fresh cannabis leaves or small buds, put them in your smoothies. While the research has yet to tell us that this is the most superior way to use cannabis for your health, I can tell you from personal experience that I have felt my healthiest when I add this type of fresh cannabis in my diet. Eating raw cannabis aids in healthy digestion and helps to support the liver.
  3. Use cannabis infused edibles. When is a good time to use edibles? I suggest in the evening to wind down and help with sleep, after a tough workout to ease tired muscles, and to help relieve physical stress. Look for a larger ratio of CBD to THC but try for as full of a cannabinoid spectrum as possible in your edibles. Know that everybody feels a little different with edible cannabis so you will need to experiment and find your right dose and times to use them.
  4. Use terpenes and cannabinoids as athletic training tools. I know a lot of athletes and exercisers who will vape or smoke a motivating cannabis strain or low dose edibles before a marathon, hike, or yoga class to help them slip into the mind body connection and improve their performance and experience.
  5. Using cannabis for meditation. One of the biggest ways to boost your health is to start meditating. Same as above with using it for exercise, cannabis can be used as a focusing tool to help you connect with your breath and bring you deeper.

There you have it, healthy people are benefiting from legalization. Now get out there and start learning more about your body!

My Summer Working On A Cannabis Farm

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Over the summer I took a part-time job at Sticky Mantis, a Tier 3 cannabis farm in eastern Washington as a trimmer and harvester. This family owned and operated farm near Cheney has been going since the beginning of recreational cannabis in 2013 and in their fifth year are still growing strong despite having to deal with the ridiculously low prices of cannabis in eastern Washington.

My job started out one day a week trimming with my friend’s mom which was absolutely wonderful for me. Trimming itself for hours and hours is tedious and I would come home covered in cannabis crumbs and smelling of flowers but still satisfied with a full day of work.

Once they started harvesting I was pulled outside and started working 7 days a week, as needed, cutting down plants. Being outside in the plants was very different work. Much more physical, much stickier, much dirtier, and much smellier.  Rather than go home smelling like cannabis flowers I would go home smelling like a skunk on defense.

If anybody ever tells you that working on a cannabis farm is glamorous, you can bet they have never worked on a farm.

Despite the odor, the impossible to get out stickiness, the minimum wage, the long commute into the country, and occasional nasty weather, I found a lot of reasons to really like this job.

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Here are 5 Benefits I gained from working on a cannabis farm:

1- The Terpenes. It is wonderful to be surrounded by cannabis terpenes when they agree with you. Most cannabis terpenes appear to agree with me but working with so many different strains I was able to observe that different cultivars gave me different feelings. The Bubba Kush gave me the yawns, Futureman made me feel positive and motivated, and Monsterberry was one I personally didn’t enjoy smelling or working with. Everybody on the crew had different reactions to each plant, it was interesting.

2- The Fresh Air- This benefit is only exclusive to outdoor farms, but working outside was a treat for me. Since Sticky Mantis is a pesticide free farm with healthy plants, I was able to enjoy my own healthy experience on the farm. Watching huge cannabis plants dance in the wind around me was somewhat magical.

3- The People- The group at Sticky Mantis was mostly family and their dynamic made being on the farm a little more fun. Take a healthy mix of personality quirks, ambition, love, and jokes, with more hard work and you get a team that keeps dialing in their craft with each season.

4- The Sunshine. After living in the Seattle area for 12 years, having a job in daily sunshine getting regular Vitamin D for months was a really nice change.

5- The Water. This is again exclusive to the farm I was working on, but they had a water spigot that pumped out fresh, untouched, mineral rich well water. I would take my own water bottles and hydrate as often as possible. What a treat!

In the end I have to say that getting on a good harvest crew is a rather exciting, challenging, grueling, and rewarding thing to do. Working with plants or dried flowers is not overly stressful and if you are the low lady on the totem pole the responsibility is also not yours. The challenging part of the work is making it through harvest when you are putting in long physical hours for weeks until it is done.

Now, with this small addition to my resume, I have a little better idea what it is like to grow weed on a commercial level and a much larger appreciation for how important the farmers are in the cannabis industry.