In a milestone for the US hemp textile industry, Renaissance Fiber today announced the first apparel quality t-shirts made from US-grown and processed hemp fiber. This resolves the critical bottleneck that has prevented the creation of a US-based hemp textile fiber supply chain—a vision the company has pursued since the 2018 legalization of Industrial hemp.
For decades, the US textile industry has faced a major barrier: the degumming process required to transform raw hemp into soft, spinnable fiber has relied on harsh chemicals and costly procedures incompatible with US environmental and workplace standards. As a result, even American brands have been forced to rely on imported hemp fabrics, sometimes even made from US-grown hemp that is processed and milled overseas. This inefficient and fragile global loop has kept hemp textiles out of reach for mainstream brands and consumers.
In a shift away from that model, these are the first apparel-quality hemp-blend garments to feature hemp processed entirely in the United States, utilizing Renaissance Fiber’s proprietary Ecologically Invisible™ degumming technology, and an engineered fiber designed to play well with cotton. The company’s process yields a quality fiber that integrates seamlessly with existing cotton manufacturing infrastructure—and, for the first time, allows blending with standard upland cotton rather than more expensive and less available Pima varieties.
“This t-shirt is a blueprint for a resilient American manufacturing future,” said Daniel Yohannes, CEO of Renaissance Fiber. “We have proven that we can turn a domestic agricultural crop into a quality, sustainable textile without sending it overseas—from dirt to shirt.”
Yohannes continues, “This is a response to the supply chain volatility and sourcing risks brought on by tariffs and extreme weather events, which have impacted every major brand. We are building the infrastructure for a more secure and sustainable global textile industry, right here in the US.”
Renaissance Fiber’s breakthrough comes at a critical time. With global trade tensions, tariffs on Chinese hemp imports, and the industry’s push to move away from materials sourced from regions with human rights concerns, brands are seeking reliable and transparent domestic alternatives. Hemp’s natural resilience and lower water usage, plus Renaissance Fiber’s carbon negative degumming process, position US hemp as a direct solution to meeting sustainability goals, and improving supply chain transparency and resilience.
By creating a cost-competitive plug-and-play solution for the existing cotton supply chain, Renaissance Fiber’s technology is enabling yarn mills to integrate hemp into their product lines. This innovation will enable the US to move from being a top grower of raw hemp to a leading producer of high-value, sustainable fiber for both domestic and global markets.
For interested individuals and wholesalers, a limited number of t-shirts will be available for pre-order on the Renaissance Fiber website starting Jul 11, 2025.
About Renaissance Fiber
Renaissance Fiber is a North Carolina-based clean-technology company pioneering the U.S. hemp fiber supply chain for textiles. Utilizing a proprietary, clean process, the company produces high-quality, spinnable fiber from US-grown hemp that is fully compatible with existing cotton manufacturing systems, ensuring traceability from farm to fabric. The company’s work has been recognized with multiple NCIDEA grants and as a finalist for the prestigious Biomimicry Ray of Hope Prize.
Renaissance Fiber has supplied fiber to major brands like Patagonia and has developed advanced functional fabrics for the Department of Defense through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, fostering critical partnerships with leading U.S. yarn spinners and mills.
