Hemp Rugs

Hemp area rugs are a rare commodity in the U.S. because of the illegality of growing marijuana, a related plant. But hemp fibers are strong and durable, and makes course fabrics like canvas and burlap. There are times a hemp area rug would fit the bill though, so finding a source of hemp rugs may be the thing to do.

Hemp rugs may be a concept you can work into your decor, if you can find a resource for them. Hemp carpeting and area rugs are a flooring you just don’t see in the U.S. much — yet.

Since 1970, the Controlled Substances Act has left no differentiation between industrial hemp and the marijuana plant which may be the reason why help isn’t being utilized as much as it could be in the U.S. But advantages of hemp are numerous:

• renewable resource
• needs no insecticides or fertilizers
• every part of the plant can be used
• grows 150 times faster than trees with four times the yield

But there are also disadvantages:

• the stigma makes it hard to find hemp products
• the texture can be scratchy

Hemp use dates back ten thousand years, along with the production of pottery in ancient times. A piece of hemp fabric was found to be the oldest human artifact and dated at 8000 BC. In colonial times of the United States, residents were required to grow hemp. However, since the CSA, hemp production is greatly reduced and confined to smaller manufacturers.

Hemp rugs

Hemp rugs are advantageous because they can be made without harming or reducing the earth’s resources. Hemp rugs can be woven by hand or on a loom without need for fuels or heavy machinery. Hemp can grow nearly anywhere without aid from insecticides or fertilizers. This fact helps maintain the natural surroundings and keeps the water supply pure as well. And while hemp rugs and hemp area rugs are byproducts of hemp, you can make cosmetics and clothing from the plant as well. By using the entire hemp plant, you are able to get more from each fast growing plant.

As unreal as it sounds, hemp grows much faster than trees with more yield. You can use the comparison that if a tree created a ream of paper, then a hemp plant would create four of them. That’s a great resource! Not only can it be used for more than one purpose, but it also makes a lot of what it needs to make.
Of course, there is a societal stigma of hemp and it’s relation to marijuana, however they are different plants. Hemp fiber is obtained from a tall, canelike variety of the Cannabis family, while marijuana is obtained from the female plant of a smaller variety. They are relative of each other, but you can not light up hemp as you would marijuana. Still, some people are skeptical about buying something that’s illegal.
As for the texture, though it can be woven into a variety of patterns, shapes and sizes, most hemp rugs are quite scratchy to the touch. It is not recommended that you use hemp area rugs in a place that people might sit or lie down. And children may not like them in a playroom because of this fact.
Hemp rugs and hemp area rugs are a great way to cover and protect your floors without harming the environment. In time, you might see that they become as popular as they could be because of all that they do and all that they don’t do.