Levi Strauss has launched garments made from a soft hemp-cotton blend in March. The denim icon found a way to make hemp fibers soft and blend with cotton, but in a way that uses significantly less water than the process used to turn hemp plants into a rough material. This will also help the brand future-proof its supply chain.

Levi Strauss started looking for cotton alternatives when looking at the growth trajectory of cotton demand compared to access to fresh water required for its cultivation and processing. It discovered cutting-edge research in Europe, where industrial hemp was already legal in many countries, and prepared a market-ready material after three years. The long-term goal is to incorporate sustainable cotton blends by using fibers such as hemp into all of its products. Levi’s is continuing to work on improving the quality of its cottonised-hemp to the point where it can be nearly half of a cotton-blend for most apparel as well as fully hemp for certain products. In five years, the brand expects a 100 per cent cottonised-hemp garment that is all hemp and feels all cotton.

However Levi’s doesn’t want to give the impression it’s out to fully replace cotton. Many years of research and development lie ahead. Plus it’s likely hemp will be just one of several natural cotton alternatives.