Henry Ford’s first Model T automobile was constructed from hemp and built to run on hemp gasoline.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.
Rembrandt and Van Gogh painted on hemp linen.
Until the advent of the cotton gin, 80 percent of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linens, drapes and bed sheets were made from hemp. The first bibles, maps and charts, Betsy Ross’ flag, and the first draft of the U.S. Constitution were all made from hemp.
Despite all that, hemp is classified as a Schedule 1 drug in the U.S. although it contains little to no psychoactive ingredients.
This year’s Farm Bill is about to blow open the doors on the hemp industry, market researchers believe. The bill, passed by Congress last week, will make industrial hemp a lawful agricultural commodity 81 years after misguided laws ended the hemp industry.
The industrial hemp industry has been thriving anyway, supported by imported hemp products since it is illegal to grow it here. The Hemp Industries Association reports total retail sales of hemp reached $688 million in 2016, up from $573 million in 2015. Of that, 24 percent was personal care products, 19 percent food, another 19 percent hemp CBD, 18 percent industrial applications, 14 percent consumer textiles, 4 percent supplements and 2 percent other consumer products.
Researchers believe the global industrial hemp market size is expected to reach $10.6 billion by 2025. Increasing research and development of hemp crops is expected to increase yield and quality, and some companies hope to make hemp fibers more water repellant, fire retardant, absorptive, soft, and even UV light resistant, which could expand its usefulness beyond the tens of thousands of products it can already make.
Industry leaders are eyeing hemp fibers as an environmentally friendly alternative to non-biodegradable plastics, especially in packaging but also in products like car interiors, window frames, floor coverings and loudspeakers. Hemp is one of the oldest and most ecologically friendly sources of natural fibers and one of the easiest to grow. The relevant parts of the plant are the fibers contained in the stem that hold the plant upright and make the tree strong and stiff. The strength of these fibers makes them an effective reinforcement in composite materials. Its production has a lower emission of greenhouse gases compared to glass fiber. Hemp composites also retain their usefulness more than synthetic plastics and glass after multiple rounds of recycling. Among the drawbacks of working with natural fiber is that the material varies depending on how and where it was grown and that it tends to absorb moisture.
Ethanol can also be produced from the hemp plant, hemp oil can yield biodiesel, and biogas production from hemp could compete with production from corn. We are still years away from using hemp as a fuel for cars, but researchers are excited by progress in this direction.
The University of Connecticut developed a biodiesel reactor system that can make diesel fuel out of a range of sustainable sources, including hemp, and graduate students there produced a biodiesel with a 97 percent conversion efficiency. A typical car engine has a rate of 20 to 30 percent, up to 40 percent for diesel.
Hemp has been demonstrated as a superior fabric, although cotton dominates the textile industry. Growing hemp uses less pesticides and water and improves soil quality. Hemp fabric is stronger and more durable than any other natural fabric and has a longer lifespan. It withstands wear and washing very well and resists rotting and mildew, and hemp textiles are fully biodegradable and easily recyclable.
Written by: Alyce Trelawny Coleman, a journalist with 20 years of experience.
Written for: Paid for by Knock on Hemp LLC in partnership with NAHE Growhouse Research and Development Group. This article is property of Knock on Hemp LLC and is not permitted to be copy written or duplicated without written approval from the company.