Why do hemp clothes cost more?

The Real Economics Behind Hemp Garments

One of the most common questions brands like The Rugged Soul hear is simple and fair:

“Why does a hemp or linen jacket cost more than a cotton or synthetic one?”

The short answer is that bast fibre garments are priced closer to their true cost. The long answer—worth unpacking—is a story of agriculture, labour, scale, time, and honesty. This article breaks down the economics behind bast fibre clothing and walks through a realistic cost decomposition of a hemp shirt or jacket, so consumers can understand exactly what they are paying for.

1. Raw Fibre Economics: Where Cost Begins

Unlike cotton, which has benefited from over a century of industrial optimisation, bast fibres like hemp, flax, and ramie exist outside large-scale commodity systems.

Cotton vs Bast Fibres (at the farm level)

• Cotton is heavily subsidised in many countries, uses genetically modified seeds, and is harvested mechanically at massive scale.

• Hemp and flax are grown at smaller scale, often without subsidies, and harvested with greater care to preserve fibre length.

Although bast fibre crops often require less water and fewer chemicals, their market price is higher because:

• Fewer farmers grow them
  

• Fibre yield per hectare (usable textile fibre) is lower

• Infrastructure is fragmented

Sustainability does not automatically mean cheaper—it often means less externalised cost.

2. Processing Costs: The Hidden Labour

This is where bast fibres diverge most sharply from cotton.

Cotton Processing

Cotton fibres are ready to spin almost immediately after ginning. Modern mills can process thousands of kilograms per hour with minimal human intervention.

Bast Fibre Processing

Bast fibres must be unlocked from the plant stem.

Each step adds cost:

1. Retting (time + land + microbial control)

2. Drying (weather risk, storage)

3. Scutching (mechanical separation)

4. Hackling (fibre alignment)

Even with partial mechanisation, bast fibre processing remains labour-intensive and slower, increasing cost per kilogram of spinnable fibre.

3. Yarn and Fabric Costs

Bast fibre yarns require:

• Lower spinning speeds

• Higher breakage tolerance

• Skilled mill operators

As a result:

• Hemp yarn can cost 2–4× more than cotton yarn

• Fabric weaving speeds are slower

• Dye uptake is more complex (natural fibres absorb dyes unevenly)

Smaller fabric runs also mean:

• Higher minimum order quantities per metre

• Less ability to amortise setup costs

4. Garment Construction: Why Jackets Amplify Cost

Outerwear magnifies cost differences.

A jacket is not just fabric—it is:

• Multiple panels

• Reinforcements

• Hardware (zips, snaps, buttons)

• Skilled tailoring

Bast fibre fabrics:

• Are tougher on needles and machines

• Require slower stitch speeds

• Demand more quality control

This increases:

• Sewing time

• Rejection rates

• Labour cost per garment

5. Small-Batch Manufacturing Economics

Most bast fibre garments today are made in small batches.

This means:

• No bulk raw-material discounts

• Higher per-unit cutting waste

• Limited negotiating power with mills

Fast-fashion brands win on price by producing tens of thousands of units. Slow-fashion brands produce hundreds.

Scale matters.

6. Cost Breakdown: Indicative pricing to compare a hemp shirt/jacket with a fast fashion product

Unfortunately, the recent policy decisions around GST on apparel tend to exacerbate things further - we will cover this as a separate critique in another blog article.

8. Why Synthetic Jackets Appear Cheaper

Synthetic fabrics benefit from:

• Petrochemical scale

• Extremely fast processing

• Ultra-low labour input

• Global oversupply

The environmental and health costs—microplastics, PFAs, fossil fuel dependence—are externalised, not reflected in price.

Bast fibre garments internalise more of their cost upfront.

9. The Rugged Soul Perspective

At The Rugged Soul, we don’t claim perfection—but we believe in pricing honesty.

We choose bast fibres because they:

• Age beautifully

• Perform in Indian climates

• Align with small-batch, non-seasonal design

We also recognise the economic reality: fully certified, end-to-end sustainable bast fibre garments are still out of reach for many consumers—and many young brands.

Our approach is incremental:

• Reduce volumes

• Choose better materials

• Design for longevity

• Educate rather than oversell

Bast fibre clothing costs more not because it is fashionable—but because it is deliberate.

When you buy a hemp or linen jacket, you’re not paying for a logo. You’re paying for time, labour, restraint, and materials that refuse to be rushed.