My story with environmentalism, veganism & hemp
I’ve been vegan now for almost 7 years and one of the big reasons for this is because I care about the environment. The other reasons are animal welfare and health and I believe are equally important.
At that time, however, I was still struggling with online fast-fashion shopping addictions, which are also SO BAD for the environment. My conscience just can’t stand in conviction for the environment from one angle 🐮 but not another 👗.
The environmental impact of travel
As a traveller, I’m also aware of the extra environmental impact that I make when I use a ton of transport and can’t always make the most sustainable choices all of the time.
This is also why I love to slow travel which you can read more about here.
So I started becoming more and more curious about sustainable fashion fabrics and brands, while at the same time caring a lot about physical health, animal & human welfare as well as expansion of consciousness…
Having ethical, quality and sustainable clothes when travelling is an ultimate goal of mine!
Enter HEMP
It was during this time that I learnt about the amazing power of hemp aka cannabis, marijuana, pot etc, etc.
I learnt that not only can it make you feel amazing (thanks THC), but it can also heal us, give you essential nutrients (the seeds), nourish our skin and is also one of the most environmentally friendly ways to produce textiles and paper (from the stalks & fibres), plus so much more.
Humans have known this for literally thousands of years, but it all became criminalised and suppressed thanks to some very successful campaigns to demonise this incredible plant many decades ago!
The amazing news is hemp is having a moment again!
Its medicinal benefits are much more widely accepted as THC starts to become slowly legalised around the world, there are a ton of food products using hemp seeds and hemp oil is a much more common skincare ingredient (I use pure hemp oil on my face and my skin has never ever been better!).
It’s crazy that just a few years ago hemp seeds in New Zealand literally had to say “not for human consumption” on the packet because that was illegal. Luckily that has changed now, even though we haven’t quite made CBD & THC legal yet in NZ.
I am just so happy to see that there are now more and more clothing brands using hemp fabric to produce sustainable, durable, comfortable, eco-friendly clothes and I am so here for it! I absolutely love clothes and fashion so seeing quality, modern and stylish clothes and underwear made out of hemp makes my heart sing!
I’m just patiently waiting for hemp toilet paper to become a mainstream thing!
WAMA Underwear
WAMA Underwear is one of the pioneering brands when it comes to underwear made out of hemp and I knew I had to get behind this brand (I am always on the quest to find comfortable, flattering & sustainable undies!!).
Hemp fabric provides UV protection, doesn’t need pesticides or fertilisers to grow, is compostable, gets softer with every wash, uses less water & land to grow than other crops, improves soil health, removes toxins from the soil & absorbs more CO2 than other crops, plus so much more!!!
I have a couple of WAMA Underwear underwear sets, one in black (which I bought myself) and one in nude (which is pictured here and was gifted).
Hemp nude bikini brief & razorback braletter
I actually love this nude set so much and have been living in it! It is so comfortable and the elastic bands don’t dig in anywhere (non-negotiable for me!).
Their fabric is so soft, breathable and light and has all sorts of other benefits other than just being amazing for the environment. It’s also antibacterial and anti-odour.
This is the bikini briefs & razorback bralette in nude 1 (they have 4 shades of nude to make things even better!).
I love all the amazing little touches they have like the green on the underside of the elastic bands and their little logo tags, which are super subtle. The other black bralette & briefs I have had for quite a while now and the quality is amazing, they are still in perfect condition after many washes.
They really do wear in and get even better the more you wear them!
WAMA’s fabric is exceptional
The fabric that WAMA uses is a blend of organic cotton and hemp at these ratios: 53% hemp, 44% organic cotton & 3% spandex. This is a much higher % of hemp to cotton (needed for softness) than many other brands that make hemp clothing which is freaking amazing! They have done such a great job at making such a soft and comfortable product out of a notoriously not-so-soft textile.
Use code CHASING10 to get 10% off any of their underwear!
Here are 21 benefits of hemp fabric!
1. HEMP CLOTHING IS STRONG AND DURABLE
2. HEMP CLOTHING IS NATURALLY ANTIBACTERIAL
3. HEMP IS ANTIOXIDANT-RICH
4. HEMP PROVIDES UV PROTECTION
5. HEMP CLOTHING CAN KEEP YOU WARM AND COOL
6. HEMP DOESN’T NEED HARSH CHEMICALS, PESTICIDES, OR FERTILIZERS TO GROW
7. ALL PARTS OF THE HEMP PLANT CAN BE USED
8. HEMP CLOTHING CAN BE COMPOSTED
9. HEMP GETS SOFTER WITH EVERY WASH AND WEAR
10. ORGANIC HEMP CLOTHING IS FREE OF UNNATURAL DYE AND TOXIC CHEMICALS
11. HEMP CLOTHING IS WATER-ABSORBENT
12. HEMP GROWS QUICKLY
13. HEMP REDUCES WATER USAGE
14. HEMP NEEDS LESS LAND TO GROW COMPARED TO OTHER CROPS
15. HEMP CAN IMPROVE SOIL HEALTH
16. HEMP CAN GROW IN A VARIETY OF LOCATIONS
17. HEMP REMOVES TOXINS FROM SOIL AND GROUNDWATER
18. HEMP ABSORBS MORE CO2 THAN OTHER CROPS
19. HEMP FABRIC IS VERY VERSATILE
20. HEMP CLOTHING IS MOLD & MILDEW RESISTANT
21. HEMP CLOTHING OPTIONS ARE GROWING
Learn more about hemp HERE and see for yourself why I think the hemp revolution could literally save the world!
Have I convinced you to get some hemp clothing in your life?
WAMA is an amazing place to start, they have a selection of men’s & women’s hemp underwear.
Wama is completely transparent on their website about their sustainability and ethical claims and also share a ton of information about the benefits of hemp on their blog!
They’re based in the US but they ship internationally for a reasonable rate!
This article originally appears on Chasing Coconuts
