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Jungmaven: Refashioning Hemp

Tim Yap
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Could the next big thing in fashion be hemp? That’s the question some are asking, as Jungmaven, a small but rapidly growing basics line fashioned from hemp, looks to put the sexy into hemp labels with its innovative organic blends, friendly price-points and made-in-the-USA story.

Founded by Robert Jungmann, the maker of Manastash and Two Jupiters sportswear, Jungmaven was originally conceived as an everyday lifestyle organic brand for outdoor enthusiasts, inspired by a surfing trip to Costa Rica. Today, with climate change demanding greater social responsibility, the brand’s message of sustainability has never been more pointed and menswear retailers, from Hickoree’s Hard Goods to Ron Herman and Unionmade across the country, are taking stock.

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“We just focus on being environmental and keep it simple that way,” explains Jungmann, who might have set legalizing marijuana as his agenda but chooses instead to build public awareness around hemp. Hemp, for it turns out, not only has anti-microbial and UV-blocking properties; it’s less water-intensive to process, uses fewer chemicals and consumes dangerous carbon dioxide. Jungmaven imports the yarn but cuts, sews, knits and dyes the fabric all on American soil.

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For the fall, Jungmaven will expand its collection of solid and batik-print fashion tank tops, tees and polo shirts made from hemp or a 55% hemp-45% organic cotton blend to include heavier weight tees, yarn-dyed tees, henleys and hooded zip-front sweatshirts. If you’re new to the brand, be sure to check out Jungmaven’s viscose hemp blend, which is remarkably smooth and ultra lightweight. Jungmaven’s fabrics also soften the more you wash them. Elsewhere, what Jungmaven lacks in traditional advertising it makes up for with a solid social fanbase and the handful of brands the company has begun working with to get everyone wearing hemp by 2020. As Jungmann puts it, where environmentalism may have been idealistic in the past, “now it’s just common sense.”

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