Ciele Athletics launches a running tee made without a single synthetic fiber

The NSPTShirt uses a hemp and cotton blend to deliver technical performance; no plastic required

Ciele Athletics, a brand we've tested on the run, has just released the NSPTShirt ($85), a running tee that makes a pointed case against the industry's reliance on petroleum-based performance fabrics.

The name spells it out: not so plastic.

Built from Sorino | HC (a blend of 70% organic cotton and 30% hemp), it's designed to wick moisture and resist odor without a gram of polyester or nylon in sight. It's timed to Earth Month, but the appeal is broader than that.

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Why hemp in a running shirt

Performance apparel has defaulted to synthetics for decades, and for understandable reasons. Polyester wicks, dries fast, and holds its shape. The problem is that it sheds microplastics with every wash, and its production is tied to fossil fuels.

Hemp offers a genuinely different starting point: it's naturally hydrophobic, meaning it pulls moisture away from the skin without chemical treatments, and it has inherent antimicrobial properties that keep odor in check across long miles.

The tradeoff with pure hemp has historically been texture, it can feel coarse and stiff. Ciele's answer is to blend it with organic cotton, which brings softness and breathability to the mix.

The resulting Sorino | HC fabric is described as having a cool hand-feel with a knit structure that moves well and breathes well, without the grassy stiffness that's kept hemp out of mainstream performance apparel.

At 103g, the NSPTShirt is genuinely lightweight; lighter than most standard running tees. The fit is designed for running, but styled for everyday use, which fits the way a lot of runners actually use their kit.

The practical details

Beyond the fabric story, the shirt covers the basics well, with flatlock stitching throughout reducing friction on longer efforts, and there's reflective detailing for low-light visibility; a useful touch for early morning or evening runs.

It's machine washable, which matters more than it sounds for a natural fiber garment as a lot of hemp-forward products require hand washing, so the ability to just throw it in the machine removes a real barrier to everyday use.

Everything is backed by Ciele's Million Miles Guarantee, the brand's lifetime warranty that applies across their lineup.

The women's version is properly shaped to the female form

Available in XS through XL for both men's and women's fits.

The wider context

Ciele is a certified B Corp, which means their sustainability commitments are externally verified rather than self-declared.

The NSPTShirt sits alongside their broader Sorino lineup, which also includes the NTRTShirt and NTRShirt, all built around the same organic cotton and hemp blend. The Sorino range is essentially Ciele's answer to the question of whether natural fibers can genuinely compete with synthetics in technical running apparel, rather than just sitting adjacent to it in a lifestyle context.

From an environmental standpoint, hemp agriculture requires significantly less water than conventional cotton, grows without heavy pesticide inputs, and contributes to healthier soil; making it a lower-impact choice at every stage before the shirt even reaches you.

For anyone building out their trail and road running kit with sustainability in mind, the NSPTShirt is worth a look alongside your other essential trail running gear decisions.

Learn More at Ciele Athletics

The Ciele NSPTShirt is available now at $85 at cieleathletics.com.