Why Hemp?
A better question is, “Why not nylon?”
Most stuff sacks are made of nylon fabric. Nylon is a synthetic material that was designed to replace Asian silk for military parachutes when the U.S. entered WWII in 1941. Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic fiber to be made entirely from coal, water and air. It was initially used for things like rope, tires, flack vests, and military uniforms. Now, nylon is used in millions of products around the world. Nylon fiber is more than twice as strong as hemp and weighs 25% less.
Typically a backpacker carries in his/her pack things like a head lamp, rope, a GPS, energy bars, clothing, toilet paper, water filters, etc. Many backpackers organize those items by placing them into multi-colored stuff sacks before stowing them in their backpacks.
That being said, do we really need stuff sacks to be “twice” as strong? Hemp is a strong fabric, far stronger than what is needed for those applications.
And, do any of those things need to be in a non-biodegradable, fossil fuel consuming, landfill occupying bag that is “twice” as strong as hemp?
No, absolutely not. When you are ready to dispose of your Fat Sacks stuff sack it will go to the landfill like any other refuse, where instead of it contributing to the pollution problem, it will decompose naturally, unlike nylon and most other man-made products. In addition, hemp requires no chemicals or industrial processes for production, and we use natural dyes that don’t pollute the earth.
Ok, so our bags are not 100% organic. However, when you are ready to dispose of your bag, use the cord from your stuff sack to make zipper pulls for your backpack, fanny pack, or jacket zipper. Or use it to keep rope bundled, or lash something to your pack. Hey, you have just recycled part of your bag!!!!
