The Oldest Fibers

We know that the plants and materials to make fibers have been around for a long time, we know that the knowledge to do so has been around for quiet a while as well. However, the question is if we were going to go back to the beginning how long ago would that be?

Quiet a lot is known about felt. Felt comes from wool, that is worked to create a matted fabric. The remnants of felted fibers have been found and dated as far back as 2000 BC and has been used for everything from shelter, to clothing to padding in shoes. In fact the Europeans believed that felt was created by pilgrims who stuffed wool into their shoes and thus created felt as they walked from place to place.

In 1995, an article was published on the imprints of wove fibers found in clay in Europe. These pieces date back to 27,000 years ago; however, it is uncertain as to whether the impressions found were made by cloth or by a flexible basket. Still the evidence does point towards sophisticated weaving and twisting methods that were known during that time. "the earliest remains of human- made cord are 19,000-year-old twisted plant fibers found in Israel (SN: 10/8/94, p.235). Charred cord remains found at France's Lascaux Cave date to 17,000 years ago. Evidence of weaving and basketry in Asia and the Americas dates to no earlier than about 13,000 years ago." (end of page 1)

Much more recently then that--earlier this year in fact--there was an article published on Flax fibers that were found in the Eurasian country of Georgia, which date back to 30,000 years or even further. Around that time Flax would've grown wild and could have been a source of edible grains as well as fibers that would've probably been braided together macrame style, (middle of the page or so). At this point in time the fibers would not have been used for clothing but probably for ceremonial purposes or as a binding tool.

On the note of Hemp, as I've discussed that previously. According to Wikipedia the oldest known imprints of hemp fibers were found on pottery shards in China and Taiwan. They date back to over 7,000 years ago. Still the hemp plant is one of the oldest cultivated fiber plants known, that has a history of textile uses and fabrics which date back as far as 8,000 BC. (Hemp Information from Hemp Sisters, Inc.)

Despite the dates that change somewhat depending on where you find the information they do provide an idea of what evidence that we have. Though of course we are limited by what we know and what we can find with the knowledge that we have.

My Sources:
Archaeologists Discover Oldest-known Fiber Material Used By Man, Science Daily, September 11th, 2009
Cannabis Hemp: Is The Oldest Plant Known to Man future-proof to?, Canna Zine News by Ian Malley
Felt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Felted Fabric, Felted Wool Fabric, Felted Fabric Supplier, Fabrics Manufacturers
Herb Plants, Flax
Hemp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hemp Information from Hemp Sisters, Inc, hemp-sisters.com
Stone Age Fabric Leaves Swatch Marks, Science News, May 6th, 1995
These Vintage Threads are 30,000 Years Old, NPR, September 10th, 2009

Sort of Related/Unrelated

So after my post on hemp, I was in Blooming Foods and out of curiosity I went back to the spice/seed section area (the one with all the plastic bottles full of stuff in it that you pour into little baggies and then label.) Simply because I wanted to know, I discovered that you can buy, 'Organic Hemp Seeds', in Blooming Foods. I believe they were something like $7.99 for a pound (that would be a whole lot.)

Since you can buy a very little bit and do not have to buy the whole lot I decided to get some for the sake of curiosity. One of the articles that I used in the previous post about Hemp Fibers, contained this quote, "Those who begin each day with at least four, but probably five, measuring tablespoons of Hemp Hearts, preferably with fruit and yogurt (vegetables for diabetics), will notice from the first day that they have sufficient energy for the entire day, that they expel wastes after every meal and that they are not hungry again until mid-afternoon," Hemp Heart's From Canada, (the image above comes from the same site as the quote, the seeds are rather small and white I think the green is what's left of the husk or possibly plant material but I'm not sure.)

Hemp, seeds taste rather green. I know that isn't a taste but you know how grass or Indigo just smells green when it's cut up? These just sort of taste green.

I haven't tried the prescribed amount, yet.. I'm rather sadly out of yogurt and I don't rather feel like trying to eat four to five table spoons of them on their own (actually I'm not sure I got that much, lol.) Anyway, I thought this might be a fun interlude away from fibers, I'll let you know if they make any difference. ^_~

On All That Is Hemp

What is Hemp and why is it illegal to grow in the United States? Well there are a few things to get out of the way first. The hemp can be confused with marijuana producing plants; however did you knot that are over 100 different varieties of basil around the world? "Strains of Cannabis approved for industrial hemp production produce only minute amounts of this psychoactive drug, not enough for any physical or psychological effects. Typically, hemp contains below 0.3% THC, while Cannabis grown for marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 or 7 % to 20% or even more." (Wikipedia, Hemp, 4th paragraph) Thus industrial hemp doesn't have any illegal uses, though I am sure that someone could come up with something. Would anyone care for the virgin joint? The problem is people do not realize exactly what Hemp is and what it is not. Visual association. We have a tendency to see something and think, 'oh, that's it' and yet we don't look any closer (what was Cinderella hiding beneath her ball gown?)

Hemp is fascinating it can be used for clothing, it can be used for food and the oils as well as other parts of the plant can be used for skin care, nutritional supplements and hair care. As I mentioned before the growth and production of Hemp is also more economical then say cotton.

It is one of the fastest growing biomass's that exists on the planet and is one of the earliest domestic plants known around the globe. The Hemp plant needs little to no chemical fertilizers (or any of that crap, that we don't really need anyone if we'd take care of the land properly), and it needs very little water. So inversion with me a hemp field, growing slowly over around 100 to 120 days. The little plants slowly get bigger, and the wind blows through them rustling the leaves. Storm clouds gather and rain waters the field, until the plants are large enough to harvest. Watch with me as nearly every part of the plant is used, the outer stalks for fiber, the inside of the stalks are often used for animal bedding due to their woodier nature and the silks for oils, papers, or other food supplements.

The production of wood pulp papers is still one of the productions that produces the highest carbon dioxide emission as an industry (it is second only to the production of concrete, just think how much of that is all around.) See here for more information on the production and bleaching of wood pulp.

Did you know that Hemp was grown in Asian more then 6, 000 years ago? It was the precursor to soy products and they contain three times the amount of vitamin E, twice the iron and magnesium as the flax seed.

Despite the fact that Hemp is three times as strong as cotton and lasts a great deal longer. Hemp can also be blended with other fibers (I mentioned the pretty hemp/silk blend on Dharam. Co.), slowly the use of Hemp is growing. The fibers from hemp are being added to make things such as jeans, shirts, pants, jackets, dresses, and other accessories (though so far I don't think we've had any hemp clothing submitted here. Most of the information in this article so far comes from, Living Touch - Hemp)

The United States is the only country in which it is illegal to produce hemp, because of fear. Other countries such as the UK, Canada and Germany resumed the production of hemp for commercial use in the 1990s; however China controls around 40% of the market. Hemp was made illegal in the US when Congress passed the 1937 Marihauna Tax Act, which was based in part on the testimony from articles in newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst. It was stressed that authors and inventors had significant financial interest in the forest industry, which helped to manufacture William Randolph Hearst's newsprint. From the 1880's to around the year 1933 hemp was grown commercially in the US; however it's use and acreage began to decline. In 1935 hemp began to make a come back when Hearst started his campaign against hemp, pushes stories through his news associations about the ties between hemp and marijuana. The result of this push was that the industrial production and use of hemp in the US was discontinued. (Wikipedia - Hemp, Paper)

Did you know that Henry Ford grew industrial hemp on his estate after 1937? He made plastic cars (the so-called Hemp Car) with wheat straw, hemp and sisal. Filtered hemp oil can be used directly to power diesel vehicles, and in the production of hemp biofuel the seeds/stalks can be used or the whole plant can be fermented.

Hemp can also be used as a purification or "mop crop", it can clean out wastewater such as sewage and other chemicals. Research is currently being done by an Eco-technologist Dr. Keith Bolton from Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia; he's using hemp to clean contaminants at Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.

Alright well I could write a whole separate piece on the historic uses of the hemp plant in the past from the stone age onward. If you're interested, see the Wikipedia article it's really quit fascinating.

Links To Web Sites Used/Or of Interest:
- Image: The above image was borrowed from Wiki; here.
- EnviroTextiles
- Fabrics.Net
- Hemp.Org, Campaing for the Restoration And Regulation of Hemp
- Hemp on Wikipedia
- "(HEMP HEARTS From Canada )" Best Source of Protein, Essential Fats, Vitamins and Enzymes 1lbs Containers

Adaptation and Curiousity

So, I sent the link out to for the blog around facebook, trying to entice various people I know and people they know to come around. What I got back was not what I expected--this could be good and this could be bad, I'm not yet sure. Anyway, what I got was not an answer to my question but answers to the two rhetorical questions I asked at the beginning:

Do you know where your cloths come from?

Do you know where your cloths are made?

This wasn't what I wanted; however, I did find the answers interesting. I'm not sure what to do with this information but I'm going to share it. If anyone else would like to answer these questions please feel free to write a comment. This blog is open and even those of you who are not blogger members can post. :)

A few of the answers I got were as follows:

1 -- No, I don't know where my clothes come from. I just buy them without thinking about it.

2 - I don't know what they're made of, either, unless I'm looking for a particular fiber. I'm usually more concerned with fit than with fiber.

1-- I think about it sometimes. I'd like to do the work necessary to buy all fair trade or made in US clothing, but I'm afraid I generally don't. I'm a sucker for a good buy on cute clothes.

2-- I wear a lot of cotton, but I wear other kinds o fiber too. I usually take note of it before I wash it so I don't ruin it.

1- I'm a label reader and I notice that a lot of my clothes are made in China. I even got one from Indonesia. Rarely do I see a label that says "Made in the USA."

2- Most of my clothes are cotton, cotton blends. I have a few rayon dress shirts but mostly good 'ol cotton.

Now a few facts to go along with this. A lot of people think cotton when you say natural fiber. A lot of people just assume that buying cotton is better then anything else that is out there. After all it's natural, people have been wearing cotton for a long time. I read an ararticle last week while I was looking for information on rayon. The article happened to be about Hemp cloth, which isn't something I know a whole lot about (other then you can by this really fantastic hemp/silk blend of fabric on Dharma Trading Co. and I really want some. The hemp image was taken from, The Yarn Tree, Fiber, Hemp, Top)

You can read the article I was reading ("Sustainable Textiles urged at U.N. Conference," by PR Newswire, November 30, 2005.) It's fairly short and quiet interesting:

Did you know that in North America alone, that around 1.4 billion cotton t-shirts are sound ever year? Talk about another big number that's hard to comprehend. I don't know about you but it's hard for me to wrap my head around something like that. If you took 1.4 billion t-shirts out into a field and piled them all into one big pile how big do you think it would be? If someone who knows how to do things mathematically and wants to give it a shot, please do.

What does that big number of t-shirts sold in North American have to do with Hemp fabric? Well, if we stopped making things out of cotton--on a global scale--and started making it out of hemp instead. We would increase the yield, in essence we'd get more yardages out of a smaller area of land. By producing hemp instead of cotton we would free up an area of farmland nearly the size of the State of Florida (Florida is 2000 square miles. I found this from the Florida Quick Facts US Census Bureau, I never knew they kept all sorts of facts like that. It makes sense though I suppose, it does rather make feel slightly uncomfortable though.)

"With textile crops like Bamboo, Soy and Hemp, we have the ability to grow, harvest and produce textiles at a fraction of the environmental impact of traditional crops like cotton," said Hemptown CEO Jerry Kroll. "Pound for pound a crop like Hemp requires no pesticides, toxic fertilizers or fresh water irrigation and far less land and energy," (Article: Sustainable textiles urged at U.N. Confrence)

So there's a little bit of information. A sneak peak at what's hopefully to come in the future: Something more in depth on Bamboo as I've heard a number of different stories regarding the use of bamboo in textiles. I will look into that and see what I can find out. I'm also hoping to do a bit more looking into the history of hemp, other uses of hemp and so forth and so on.

Alrighty more about Hemp and Bamboo later. Have a good day. *disappears*