Textile hemp: can it once again become our 'green gold'?

What had made us first in the world for the quality of our hemp, was precisely the fibre, from which ropes and sails for ships, but also trousseaux for brides, linens, curtains and upholstery for mattresses and armchairs were obtained. The ships of the famous and unbeatable British fleet had sails made of Italian hemp, just as the Amerigo Vespucci, still today, by statute must have sails made of Carmagnola hemp. The same textile fibre that in the past was considered “green gold”: a product with a high added value processed in an artisanal manner. The subsequent decrease in cultivation has unfortunately prevented, among other things, the transition from artisanal to industrial processing by mechanising processes such as steeping or subsequent combing. The result is that today in Italy, despite some recent attempts such as that of the Fibranova group, there is no possibility of producing hemp fabric; what is available is imported from abroad. If we think that cotton is one of the most polluting crops on the planet, while hemp hardly needs herbicides or pesticides, we would have all the more reason to go in this direction, despite the fact that it is a not inconsiderable investment. Imagine, however, the value that a hemp made in Italy, cultivated with our genetics, could have, giving rise to garments made in Italy.

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