Sustainable Clothing that is Stylish & Affordable
Submitted By: Kim Curiel (kim_curiel@yahoo.com)

Challenge
Our family was searching for sustainably made clothing for reasonable prices. The hemp clothing that we'd seen previously were often not made well, not stylish, or were way over-priced. My three teenage daughters wanted clothing that looked cool, fit well, but that they could feel proud of wearing, knowing it was made of hemp which is far better for the earth than cotton (which requires tons of water and pesticides).

Solution Details
Women Hoodie II
We met Betsy at the Green Festival in SF and bought a zip hoodie (shown in the picture on the right), two shirts and a pair of pants. All immediately became our favorite items of clothing my three teens began to fight over who got to wear the hoodie and the shirts were everyone's must-wear item. We needed to buy more. We bought another hoodie, but then wanted another, but in a different color than what we saw on her website. We sent an email requesting the hoodie in green and Betsy immediately agreed to make one for us as well as XXS pants for my youngest daughter. All the items we received are top quality and we wear them constantly. I'm telling everyone I know, this is the place to buy hemp clothes!

Benefits & Payback
Striped three quarter pants
The pants were just $62 (which is $30 less than the previous two pairs of hemp pants I'd found previously). And the jacket was also $62. Considering this item is my daughter's number one favorite clothing item I'm very satifisfied. (The picture to the right is from the Hempest - an online hemp retailer)

Hemp clothing is better for the environment than cotton, because it grows exceedingly well without pesticides or chemicals, actually enriching the soil and helping it to retain moisture. And hemp produces 250% more fiber than cotton and 600% more fiber than flax using the same amount of land. Hemp is known as the strongest fiber; over twice as strong as cotton. Hemp can be grown sustainably in any climate.

More About Hemp
Industrial hemp is an amazingly productive and useful crop, but it is often erroneously confused with marijuana. While they look similar, hemp contains virtually no THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and has no illicit uses. Rather its fibers are perfect for clothing and many other products. Hemp clothing is warmer, softer, more absorbant, extremely breathable and significantly longer lasting than clothing made from cotton. These days you can buy a wide variety of products made from hemp from mainstream retailers such as REI.

Informational Links
To contact Betsy at Intertwined Designs:
www.intertwineddesigns.com or call (605) 319-0342

Hemp products at REI

There are a wide array of online hemp clothing retailers - just type "hemp clothing" in Google.


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