When you think about hemp as a fabric, at least for me, the first thing that comes to mind are gunny sacks.

It’s not a material one would expect to compare to those comfortable denim jeans we all love. But those jeans have a surprisingly large water footprint. Part of this is due to the water required to grow the cotton, although there are strains that require less water or can be grown in areas where there is sufficient (but unpredictable) rainfall. The other water-hungry part of getting those jeans to your closet is the intensive chemical washes required to get that classic denim look. Taking that into consideration, that favorite pair of jeans likely consumed about 1,000 gallons of water on its way to you. And about 90% of that is just growing the cotton. This study from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has all the scientific detail.

Another way to look at it is how much water is required to produce a kilogram of fabric: 10,000 liters for cotton; 2,719 for hemp.