Carbon sequestration
According to Darshil Shah, senior researcher at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at Cambridge University, numerous studies estimate that hemp is one of the best converters of carbon dioxide to biomass, absorbing between 8 and 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare of cultivation. In comparison, forests typically capture 2 to 6 tons of CO2 per hectare per year depending on the number of years of growth, the climatic region, and the type of trees.
Field research confirms this. A 2024 study conducted at a farm enterprise in the Republic of Bashkortostan found that hemp crops captured 14.78 tons of CO2 per hectare from the atmosphere during a single growing season. Of the total carbon accumulated, 91% was found to be conserved for a long time in long-term products and into the soil, meaning the sequestration benefit extends well beyond the growing season itself.
A fiber that sequesters carbon during cultivation and retains much of that carbon in the finished product represents a genuinely different environmental proposition from a fiber that is simply grown without pesticides.
Water use
A study from the University of Twente calculating the global water footprint of industrial hemp textile found the total figure to be approximately 2,820 cubic meters per ton of textile, compared to approximately 10,000 liters per kilogram for cotton. The water footprint of cotton textile is more than three times larger than that of industrial hemp textile. Cotton is predominantly grown in water-scarce regions of the world, while industrial hemp is mainly grown in areas where little or no water scarcity exists.
The global average blue water footprint of industrial hemp in the growing stage is effectively zero, meaning hemp is generally not irrigated and relies on rainfall rather than extracted water sources.
For a sourcing manager or buyer, this is not a marginal difference. It is a structural one that runs through the entire supply chain.
Soil health and crop rotation
Research published by the European Industrial Hemp Association found that hemp has a deep rooting system, a favorable influence on soil structure, and curtails the presence of nematodes and fungi. After cultivation, the soil is left in optimum conditions due to the complete weed suppression that follows from hemp's high shading capacity. Studies have reported 10 to 20 percent higher wheat yields in the season following hemp cultivation.
Hemp has also been shown to be suitable for phytoremediation, the process of using plants to remove heavy metals from contaminated soil, making it a viable option for land reclamation as well as standard agricultural rotation.
Hemp does not simply avoid damaging the soil it grows in. In many cases it actively improves it.
Pesticides and biodiversity
Due to its vigorous growth, shading capacity, and disease resistance, hemp can be grown without the use of herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. In practice, no pesticides are applied in the United Kingdom, Germany, or the Netherlands. Hemp therefore easily complies with the requirements of organic farming and is suitable for cultivation near surface water.
A study assessing the biodiversity friendliness of 23 crops across 26 parameters found that hemp ranked in the top five crops overall, outperforming wheat, maize, and rapeseed. A broader assessment by the European Environment Agency evaluating crops on nutrient depletion, erosion, water consumption, and biodiversity found hemp to perform at the highest level across most categories.
A note on responsible production
The Textile Exchange notes that as hemp production expands, the risk of increased pest pressure and the introduction of synthetic inputs will grow. The industry can establish chemical-free production as a standard rather than allow the patterns that compromised cotton to repeat themselves with hemp.
The environmental case for hemp is strong. Keeping it that way requires the same intentionality in how it is grown as in how it is processed. At Fiberee we source hemp grown using chemical-free cultivation methods and process it mechanically, without chemical treatment at the fiber preparation stage.