Lewis, an undecided freshman from Palos Park, wears hemp jewelry, like her light-green hemp bracelet and necklaces, for its style and durability. She makes most of her own jewelry out of a ball of hemp she has in her room.

Hemp wear is the decoration of choice for many SIUC students. Hemp refers to the industrial use of the stalk and seed of the Cannabis Sativa plant. Hemp is considered to be a durable garment because the fibers are longer than those of cotton or wool fibers.

It is illegal in the United States to grow Cannabis Sativa for hemp use, so the hemp must be imported, which makes it more expensive. Balls of hemp can be purchased for about $10.

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I first learned to weave hemp on a vegetable farm in Tennessee, and now I’ve got my own hemp roll, Lewis said. I’ve been making necklaces and stuff, and my hemp roll has been getting smaller.

A hemp roll is a ball of hemp rolled into a configuration similar to a ball of yarn. The hemp roll can be used to weave the strands of hemp together to make jewelry, key chains and other hemp products.

Eric Rockenhauser, a senior in math from Carbondale, said the captivating plant, which sometimes grows to heights of 15 feet, is an excellent fiber because of its length.

Rockenhauser works at Threads, 112 N. Illinois Ave., a specialty shop that sells mostly hemp products.

We sell hemp hats, hemp luggage, shirts and pants, hemp dog treats and even hemp coffee filters, Rockenhauser said.

Food, fabric, fuel and medicine are the four basic uses of the hemp plant, but the fabric is what Rich White enjoys.

I dig hemp, and I have this big fat choker (tight necklace), and I wear it every day, White, a freshman in recreation from Fairfield, Conn., said. I usually throw on my hemp stuff when I get up in the morning. I never leave home without it.

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Joe Balsmo, a freshman in recreation from Downers Grove, wears two hemp necklaces and a thick hemp belt. Like Lewis, Balsmo likes to weave his own hemp accessories.

I learned to weave cotton in a camp, Balsmo said. After I could weave cotton, it was easy to weave hemp stuff.

Lewis sees hemp as a current and stable form of fashion.

Everything I own of hemp I wear all of the time, Lewis said. My sister made a necklace for me, and it has pieces of bark in it for added fashion.

Glass, wood and other materials often are woven into hemp jewelry to add additional ornamentation. Other people weave hemp hair wraps directly into their hair.

I have a hair wrap, too, and I’ve had it in for too long, Lewis said. It’s kind of nasty, I’ve had it in for about half of a year.

Wearing hemp is comfortable because it gets softer with every washing, White said.

I guess I like it because it feels comfortable and looks pretty cool, White said. I weave my own shoelaces sometimes. I make stuff out of this big fat hemp roll I have in my room.

Hemp is at the apex of its fashion movement, Lewis said.

Hopefully, hemp is not a passing fad, Lewis said. Its one of the strongest fibers from the Earth, but sometimes people can get stereotyped as bud (pot) smokers for wearing hemp.

All I ever wear, in terms of jewelry, is silver and hemp because, in my opinion, they’re better than gold.