This article presents development of nonwoven fabrics of hemp fibres for insulation applications in building industry, created with carding and needle-punching technologies. Two types of retted hemp fibres harvested in 2010 – a local dioecious variety “Purini” and the EU registered monoecious industrial hemp variety “Bialobrzeskie” grown in the Vilani district of Latvia – have been used and compared with their end-product properties. The resulting needle-punched hemp fabrics are characterised to determine their dimensional properties (thickness, weight per unit area), water vapour transmission) porosity, thermal resistance and thermal conductivity to assess their suitability as alternative insulation materials. The influence of hemp variety on fabric properties has also been estimated.