Why Hemp?
For one, it gobbles up CO2…
My encounter with hemp came not so much as “perfect storm”, but rather an inescapable flurry, when several projects, seeming at first look to have nothing in common, landed on my desk about the same time.
The first project was borne out of a challenge facing a client in the textile and custom manufacturing industry. Proud to be a U.S. manufacturer, the company operates in categories with fierce price competition from offshore manufacturers. They needed to establish product differentiation that went further than the emotional and patriotic appeal of “Made in the USA”. Indeed, the final products were manufactured domestically, but so much of the material used for production was sourced from other countries.
Considering how they might develop offerings made from components entirely sourced from within the United States, the notion of fabrics made from hemp became very attractive. With further examination, a long list of potential benefits of hemp-based material emerged.
Almost simultaneously, a past client was launching a new business: like so many others, they were entering the CBD market. What made our conversations particularly interesting was how “waste” from the production of CBD oil could be greatly reduced by using remaining plant material for other products, such as textiles, building products, packaging and more. Particularly intriguing was all the potential hemp represents for other clients in those very industries.
In that same timeframe, a client that makes and distributes industrial ropes had received an unusual request: the Lewis & Clark Boat House and Museum in St. Charles, MO needed new ropes to replace all the rope on their three boats which are exact replicas of those used by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
To be entirely true to history, those ropes should be made from hemp. But, hemp — for all its 50,000 potential industrial uses — was not a legal crop between the years of 1937 and 2018. Although that changed with the 2018 Farm Bill, the Museum’s need for replacement ropes was immediate for educational videos being produced at the time. As hemp was not yet back in in production for the fiber required for hemp ropes, my client was able to provide synthetic fiber ropes that provided very similar appearance.
The industrial hemp industry is still very early into its re-emergence. Data collected by Vote Hemp shows hemp crop acreage expanding from nearly 26,000 acres reported nationwide in 2017 to 336,655 acres reported by thirty-four states in 2020. While acreage has grown, the infrastructure needed to process hemp for products other than CBD oil is comparatively still in its infancy.
This projected growth rate is somewhat impressive, yet it’s still a drop in the proverbial bucket of potential. Given all the environmental and economic benefits hemp can offer as a crop, it seems a lot of money is being left on the table, as a lot of fiber is being left to discard. It would be tragic if the waste of unused hemp fiber exceeds the benefits of a crop that gobbles carbon as it grows.
For the many who are new to the wonders of hemp, Get Green Now explains them in great detail in their article, The Environmental Impact of Hemp — Is Hemp Sustainable?
A quick rundown of the benefits it offers related directly and indirectly to sustainability include:
- Large industrial crops like cotton and soybeans depend heavily on pesticides and chemicals that contribute to contamination of soil, water and air. Hemp is naturally resistant to a lot of diseases and pests, so the need is reduced for chemicals that can damage the environment.
- Hemp can conserve on land and water usage. It’s less water-intensive than cotton, for example, and requires less acreage per pound of fiber. It thrives in different climates and soil types, which can also lend toward land and water conservation.
- Hemp can support soil health as it returns many of its nutrients back into the ground.
- As a source of biodiesel, hemp can be a sustainable source of fuel. Unlike other biofuels, hemp can flourish in a variety of soil types, and requires less acreage.
- Hemp can be used to make paper, so it can save forests! An acre of hemp can produce far more pulp for paper than trees in a very short period of time; the plant can be harvested for fiber in as little as 60 days. In comparison, wood pulp comes from trees that require decades to mature. Plus, hemp paper can be recycled seven to eight times; paper from wood pulp can only be used up to three times.
- The building industry can put hemp to use for sustainable benefits. Concrete is a major producer of CO2 emissions, and global demand for it is increasing. Hempcrete is a concrete made from hemp. It’s strong enough to support load-bearing walls and also provides insulation. As hemp consumes great amounts of CO2, its benefits in comparison to concrete are even greater.
- Plastics made from hemp a durable and entirely degradable. Plus, they do not contain the harmful chemicals found in conventional plastics. Hemp plastics are a safe and healthy alternative for both environmental and human health.
Those four coinciding projects put me on a crusade for hemp. The environmental problems facing our planet are many and complex. Hemp is not the only solution, but it is an incredibly powerful one. I have great expectations for the infrastructure to develop that will help us make the most of the phenomenal benefits industrial hemp has to offer.
