Hempsmith, a local hemp clothing business run by NC State Wilson College of Textiles graduate Arlo Estill, started out as a joke. Arlo Estill’s brother, Zafer Estill, planted the seeds of the business in high school when he embroidered a cannabis leaf onto a hemp T-shirt, playing on designs from companies like Ralph Lauren.
Zafer Estill recognized the compatibility of industrial hemp as a strong, much more sustainable alternative to plastic fibers used for clothing manufacturing. His initial idea later blossomed into an innovative clothing company.
After Zafer Estill’s passing in 2016, Arlo Estill took over the business using Zafer Estill’s original designs. True to its founder’s original goal, Hempsmith’s mission remains to spark a restorative local economy through industrial hemp.
“Our main goal is to bring hemp home, so we want to create a market that can cause the North Carolina farmer to grow industrial hemp,” Arlo Estill