Hemps strength has to do with the length of its stalk fibre. In The Great Book Of Hemp (1996) Rowan Robinson makes clear ‘Hemp fibre can be up to fifteen feet long, while cotton is a mere ¾ inch, giving Hemp eight times the tensile strength and four times the durability.’Even the 2018 page-turnerBiodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer Composites, says; “Hemp fibers reinforce composite materials on account of their biodegradability and low density.” Add the fact Hemp does not degenerate with sunlight, is fire retardant, and is naturally resistant to mould and moth - you start to understand why there’s no stalk quite like the Hemp stalk. 

But does a hardier plant mean harder to process? Yes. It’s one of the main reasons (apart from corporate greed) the English grew apart from Hemp as its main industry crop. Farmers did not like the work involved in the cutting, retting and processing. But that was 100 years ago. Others have argued that harder harvesting makes for a tougher environmental impact. No. Not when you use solar power, rainwater, and are 100% organic (which Rood factories do). The fact is the more we incorporate hemp into our daily lives, the more R&D will go into it, which will create a greener process. The more we all win. 

Countless scientific journals full of complex equations and experiments have dug into the science of hemps strength. Scientists come back with big answers that can get a novice tangled. So we did some of our own tests  to see for ourselves: #1 Tee Swing. Test: Tie Rood T-Shirts together and swing from a tree. Results: Knot dependant. #2 Tug-of-Sock. Test: A tug of war with Rood socks. Results: Depends who is tugging, but sock stays in shape. #3 Shotgun. Test: Shoot Rood products with a shot-gun. Results: Not quite bullet proof. #Walk 500 Miles. Test: Walk 500 miles in Rood products. Results: Guaranteed for 500 miles.

Hemp was traditionally used for sails and rope where it had to be strong to survive survive the sea. Perhaps this fuels the common misconception that hemps strength makes it coarse, scratchy or uncomfortable. But this only from those who have not worn Rood Hemp (or read our blog on being soft). On bare skin, our products are as soft as clouds, and as light as air. Not only that, but Rood promises to be a "Shape Non-Shifter". You won't need to wash us a lot, but we holds R shape. Wearing in, not out.