Project Overview
The U.S. quilting industry is a multi-billion-dollar market, generating $4.5B in annual revenue in 2025 and supported by 9–11 million active quilters, making it one of the most robust craft sectors in the country [R-023]. At the same time, consumer trends show a growing shift toward textured woven and linen fabrics that add depth, natural beauty, and tactility to quilts [R-024, R-025]. Despite this appetite for natural, textured materials, quilting textiles remain cotton-dominant. While cotton is a natural fiber, its high water and pesticide use, along with historical labor issues, present a persistent sustainability challenge for the industry [R-004, R-013, R-015].
Hemp textiles can meet quiltmaking's demand for natural, tactile materials while reducing environmental impact (lower water use, no pesticides, durable, breathable, biodegradable). Yet adoption lags due to misconceptions about texture/softness and associations with marijuana, plus limited retail presence. Meanwhile, the U.S. hemp fiber market is expanding. It is projected to grow from $120.4M (2024) to $360.2M (2033), signaling market pull for sustainable cotton alternatives and a timely opportunity for application in quiltmaking [R-026]. Quiltmaking is an ideal medium for changing perceptions because it is a deeply tactile, material-driven craft where makers handle, test, and compare materials through hands-on making.
It is our belief that the information provided on this site, its potential to spread, and the data collection of what people think of hemp through our survey will open the way for discovering how to make a more sustainable future within the textile arts. We don't want to just show what we can find online or through the standard research papers that we'll be sifting through, rather we want to exemplify the voices of the community in our work. Peoples' reaction to this website, alongside the responses we discover in the provided survey that's linked in the Home Page, acts as the first step toward showing that voice on the matter. Only together, can we weave a more sustainable future.
