Designer Betsy Cassell’s business, Intertwined Designs, began seven years ago when she started selling her hemp clothing at the Farmer’s Market. Cassell likes hemp because it doesn’t take chemicals to grow and nurtures the soil where it grows. She also likes hemp because it is easy to work with, it’s breathable and stains wash out easily.

Like all U.S. designers who sew with hemp, Cassell has to import the material — usually from China — because it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States. She says this expense can make her clothes more expensive to make, especially since hemp is a heavy material. “If we were allowed to grow hemp in our country it would be dirt cheap,” she says. “Because hemp grows like a weed. You don’t need to fertilize the ground, you don’t need to spray it with pesticides to grow it.”

There are signs that the United States may follow the lead of other countries and begin allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp, a cousin of marijuana that does not have the drug’s hallucinogenic properties. Seven states have passed laws allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp. North Dakota farmer and Rep. David Monson has applied for a license to grow the crop. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration still must give its permission before Monson can legally grow industrial hemp.

Remple said consumers who are interested in buying sustainable clothing should take into account where and how a garment is made in addition to what fiber it is made out of. “I really like the idea of buying local,” she said. “You have power and you have control. Wherever you spend your money … it’s voting.”

Both Remple and Cassell say living near Bellingham, a city known for its progressive environmental attitudes, was instrumental in the success of their businesses. “I feel like it was really my community that helped me grow,” Cassell says. “The clothes just kind of started becoming a hit. People kept buying and asking for more.”

Market vendor Gretchen Norman, who sells organic produce from her farm Holistic Homestead in Everson, says she buys clothing made by Cassell both because she supports the production of hemp and because she likes the cuts and feel of the clothing. “Productionwise, I think it’s better to harvest hemp than mass-producing the other fibers we use.”

While Cassell says her clothing is especially popular with people on the West Coast, she receives orders from stores around the country, including California, Ohio, Vermont and Montana. Last winter, she even shipped clothes to Ireland for the Fair Trade Fashion Show at Trinity College in Dublin.

Cassell says if more companies used environmentally sustainable materials it would raise awareness among buyers. “People look up to these companies,” she says. “If they’re doing it then they’re going to help make people realize that, hey, we should be supporting these more sustainable fabrics.”