6 unexpected products made from hemp

By: Matt Hickman
Source: mnn.com

A woman explores a hemp maze at Château de la Roche-Jagu in France. (Photo: Barbetorte/Wikimedia Commons)

Once upon a time, hemp was one of America’s most vital cash crops, a hardy, low-maintenance and incredibly versatile plant, the fiber of which was used to produce everything from rope to paper. Heck, even George Washington — and a smattering of other early United States presidents including Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson — were proponents of industrial hemp cultivation and grew cannabis on their plantations (presumably not to craft chunky beaded chokers and macramé plant hangers).

 

Through the years, the status of hemp as a viable crop in the U.S. entered a dormant state, with commercial production ceasing in the late 1950s. Although individual states including Colorado, Kentucky and North Dakota are working to reintroduce small-scale industrial hemp production, the plant continues to be classified by the federal government as a controlled substance even though you’d have to tryreally, really hard to get high from the stuff because the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in industrial hemp is negligible.

 

Because it is illegal to grow the plant in the U.S., hemp products and the raw materials used to make them must be imported from a country — like China, Canada, France, Romania, or Turkey, just to name a few — where its production is not verboten. In fact, the U.S. is one of only a few, if not the only, industrialized nation that does not produce hemp for commercial purposes.

 

Although there are several theories about why industrial hemp has struggled to enjoy the renaissance it deserves, and why it went away in the first place, it generally boils down to the “pot factor.” Industrial hemp, an adaptable and sustainable plant with serious planet-improving potential, and marijuana, a plant that goes best with a large bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, are one and the same — both cannabis plants grown for very different purposes.

 

Legality issues aside, the number of diverse products made with hemp seeds, oil and fiber is eye-opening. This is one seriously multitasking plant used to make consumer products ranging from shower curtains to dog toys. Below, you’ll find just a few rather uncommon instances.

 

Although we’ve left the vast array of nutritious, cannabis-based comestibles off this list, the next time you’re cruising the aisles of Whole Foods, be sure to grab a bag of hemp seed granola and a carton of hemp milk (or frozen waffles). You’ll be making G.W. proud.

 

1. Bikes

Companies offer bikes with frames of bamboo and hemp fiber, like this one from Evolve Bicycles. (Photo: Teslatesla/Wikimedia Commons)

 

If you’re the type who prefers to don a helmet and propel yourself around town instead of sitting slouched behind the wheel of a car, you’ll probably dig the work of Erba Cycles, a Boston-based purveyor of truly gorgeous bicycles expertly handcrafted from bamboo and hemp.

 

The frames, available in a range of styles from country cruisers to city commuters, are made with lightweight, stronger-than-steel bamboo with joints held together by resilient hemp fiber.

 

If you’re not on the market for a sweet new bike, you can always start small while keeping with the “bike” theme … with a deck of classic Bicycle Playing Cards made from hemp.

 

2. Underpants

Clothing made of hemp has become more widespread and fashionable. (Photo: Dave O/Flickr)

 

Although the phrase “hemp underpants” might conjure images of scratchy, ill-fitting and completely unfashionable knickers or some sort of epic Cheech and Chong gag, this is not the case with undergarments and other clothing items made with hemp-based textiles. They’re ultra-soft, stylish and even, yes, sexy.

 

Unlike bamboo, organic cotton and other sustainable natural fibers, hemp — grown free of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals — has long experienced an identity crisis on the apparel front, unable to fully shed those hoary, flower power associations still kicking around from the 1960s.

 

Honestly, we all have our preconceived notions of what someone who wears hemp clothing looks like. But the times have indeed changed as Patagonia, H&M, Calvin Klein and other clothing brands that don’t exactly scream “sacred moonchild” are now using eco-friendly hemp fibers.

 

3. Lotion

If you’ve ever doubted that Cannabis sativa could improve your beauty regimen, think again. For centuries, hemp oil has served as a skin-improving miracle worker used as an emollient in everything from lip balm to hand salve.

 

Beyond its everyday moisturizing properties, natural hemp oil is used to combat even more serious skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

 

Also found in shampoo and sunscreens, hemp-based bath and beauty products are relatively easy to come by if you’re already big on natural products. Not at all shockingly, hemp is Dr. Bronner’s approved.

 

For the uninitiated who prefer chain stores to natural markets, the Body Shop’s hemp range of products — foot creams, body butters, heavy-duty hand protectors, etc. — is a great place to start. Gardeners and those who are frequently exposed to the elements will particularly reap the hydrating benefits of hemp oil.

 

4. Cars

The Kestrel EV has a hemp-based biocomposite body. (Photo: Motive Industries Inc.)

 

Two communities that you normally don’t find coming together, auto geeks and industrial hemp proponents, went gaga in 2010 when Canadian company Motive Industries unveiled the Kestrel EV, a prototype electric car with a body made almost completely from a hemp-based biocomposite material.

 

Speaking to Popular Science, Motive Industries president Nathan Armstrong explained that the three-door hatchback hemp mobile’s strong “yet incredibly lightweight” body could be a “sweet spot for electric vehicles.” Compared with the similarly sized Ford Fusion, which weighs nearly 4,000 pounds, the Kestrel rings in at just 2,5000 including its battery. The vehicle’s low tonnage is capable of boosting fuel efficiency by 25 to 30 percent.

 

Although the Kestrel EV has yet to hit roads, hemp enthusiast Henry Ford must be smiling down from automotive heaven. In 1941, Ford unveiled a car body made from a lightweight agricultural bio-plastic (reportedly mostly soybeans, but also hemp, flax and other crops) that ran on a hemp-based fuel.

 

5. Houses

This hemp-based home in Asheville, North Carolina, was completed in 2010. (Screencapture: MNN)

 

Perhaps the most promising use of industrial hemp is within the home construction industry. Yessir, you can build houses with cannabis.

 

But really, hempcrete — a bio-composite composed of the shives, or inner woody cores, of the plant mixed with water and a lime-based binding agent — is the perfect bio-based building material. It boasts excellent insulating properties to help homeowners save on energy bills, it’s completely nontoxic and ideal for those with chemical sensitivities, and it stands up strong when the ground begins to shake, making it a viable materials for rebuilding in areas that have been devastated by earthquakes.

 

Added bonus: Hempcrete is impervious to mold, termites, fire — basically whatever you throw at it. Plus, this highly sustainable alternative to traditional concrete actually absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

 

A handful of hemp-based homes have been completed, with the first in Asheville, North Carolina, in 2010. The home’s proud owners, Russ Martin and Karon Korp, have an excellent sense of humor about living in a home primarily built from nonpsychoactive cannabis. “We heard that we could have a really great neighborhood party if it ever caught on fire,” Korp joked.

 

6. Skateboards

Targeting cool kids concerned about the state of our forests, companies such as Habitat have started to offer pretty sweet skateboards that swap out traditional Canadian maple with hemp decks.

 

And because skateboarding is a sport where your kicks are just as scrutinized as your tricks, snagging hemp skate shoes and streetwear from classic brands such as Vans, Element, Adidas and others is easier than ever.

 

And don’t forget the hemp grip tape!

Vote Hemp: National Non-Profit Pushing Against Hemp Farming Prohibition

Source: ladybud.com

The following text originally appeared as a campaign funding update fromVote Hemp.

 Now is a very important time for the industrial hemp movement. As you may know, the DEA complicated efforts for Kentucky to proceed with hemp pilot programs authorized by section 7606 of the Farm Bill. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture took the DEA to court and got an agreement that allowed for seeds to be imported. There are now 5 pilot programs underway in Kentucky and the hemp crops are thriving! We applaud Kentucky’s progress this season, but our work is far from done until farmers in all 50 states are allowed to grow the crop for commercial purposes. We made it this far with your help, and with your continued support
 

we can reach our goal!

We need your help in the form of a donation, and we have some fantastic items for you to enjoy in appreciation of your generosity or you can let 100% of your donation go to support our efforts. Also, we are auctioning off several rare items including:

The Industrial Hemp Amendment to the Farm Bill printed on 100% Handmade Hemp Paper.

Click here to visit the Auction on eBay and place a bid!

This is a limited-edition (only 15 made) Hemp Farm Bill Amendment printed to 100% handmade hemp paper by Artisan hemp artist, Elishwa Shalom. 

Auction Ends Tuesday at 4:00 PM EST.

Ladybud readers, if a commemorative print of the legal language used in the Hemp Farm Bill Amendment doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can also pledge funds in a more standard format. Doctor Bronner’s Magic Soaps will be doubling all cash donations made to Vote Hemp, ensuring your funds will make twice the impact!

In addition to doubling your donation courtesy of Doctor Bronner’s, you can also receive some excellent swag for your donation! Check out the donation page here. Vote Hemp is currently offering posters, several educational DVDs about hemp, and a Doctor Bronner’s sampler pack with eight different scents of the lovely Castille soap.

Ladybud will continue following the efforts of Vote Hemp and similar organizations across the country. As each individual aspect of prohibition is dismantled, a freer, stronger American economy is growing in its place. Re-legalizing industrial hemp cultivatin is an integral part of that process.

Read previous Ladybud coverage of Vote Hemp and its lobbying efforts here!

Hemp: the forgotten fibre

By MARK GRIGGS
Source: theland.com.au

THE industrial revolution may have rolled past commercialisation of industrial hemp, but late-20th century innovation and 21st century marketing ideology is delivering a potentially enormous future for this poor second cousin to today’s cotton textile and oil-based manufacturing products.

Forget drugs and illegal substances: industrial hemp doesn’t have any hallucinogenic THC, but it is a fibre that can be used with or instead of any other natural or man-made material.

As well, hemp provides some of the safest seed-derived health foods known to man.

All that is needed to get the hemp industry going in Australia is commitment from the nation’s leaders and also the farming sector.

This was the message a gathering of 50 Trangie and Narromine district irrigators were told by Textile and Composite Industries Pty Ltd managing director Adrian Clarke, Ballan, Victoria, during a hemp information seminar conducted by Macquarie 2100 at Trangie Bowling Club last month.

“The Commonwealth and State governments need to remove the ‘drug’ stigma on industrial hemp while farmers, especially those with irrigation, need to take a step into the future and become part of that future,” Mr Clarke said.

“Food Standards Australia and New Zealand supported hemp seeds as food for human consumption in 2012, however the Federal government has held-up the legislation,” he said.

“A viable hemp industry would be a major shot in the arm for Australia’s ailing manufacturing base as well as an economic boost to regional and rural Australia.”

While hemp was a major fibre until the 1700s, it became a second cousin to cotton and then oil derivatives for centuries due mainly to inadequate, antiquated and costly processing techniques.

However, in 1994 Mr Clarke and associates developed an efficient high-fibre extracting process which has since been further developed to transportable modular form to become a commercially viable on-farm value-add process.

Mr Clarke and his team developed a portable hemp fibre decorticator that extracts hemp fibre on the property.

He told the audience hemp plants produced three products.

“The best food grain that’s ever been known to man, fibre, and hurd,” Mr Clarke said.

“Hurd is the balsa-like pulp in the plant’s stem which when mixed with lime becomes ‘hempcrete’, the main ingredient in thousands of houses being built in Europe today.

“It is so fire resistant that you can play a blowtorch against a wall of hempcrete and it will not burn.”

Hurd could also be transformed into ethanol production and pulped for paper.

He said hemp fibre could replace fibreglass and carbon fibre.

“With extrusion or pultrusion you can replace wooden fence posts with hemp fibre that will last virtually forever.”

Ford Motor Company entrepreneur Henry Ford built a vehicle from hemp and the Lotus Elise was also manufactured from hemp fibre through extrusion.

Henry Ford also began using ethanol fuel processed hurd.

The benefit for Australian growers is a higher yield per hectare for less input costs.

“Hemp will grow to fibre harvest stage in 90 days, use much less water and chemicals but will produce three times the fibre per hectare than cotton,” Mr Clarke said.

“So from 1.5ha you can build a house.”

When degummed, hemp could be turned into fibre of spinning quality that would spin on standard cotton machinery.

“It will blend with wool, cotton or rayon – any fibre,” he said.

An added benefit to famers was the production of four tonnes of root matter per hectare, which “breaks down rather quickly and builds soil rather than depleting it”.

“We tend to grow it organically or biodynamically, but the farmer has the choice how to grow hemp.

“An added bonus, no pesticides or herbicides are required in its growth,” Mr Clarke said.

“Input costs are exceedingly competitive with any other crop, but the sale price is going to give farmers a much better profit, we are told, than almost any broadacre crop,” he said.

“The decorticator machine is portable and will fit inside a container so farmers can either purchase one or we can contract the process.”

He said Textile and Composite Industries would charge $750/ha for the processing cost.

Hemp taking root in area fields

By Garrett Simmons
Source: lethbridgeherald.com


Participants in a crop walk get an upclose look at a group of 
hemp plots earlier this week in a field east of Lethbridge. 
Herald photo by Ian Martens

Southern Alberta is known for its vast network of irrigation, which allows producers to grow several crops unique to this region.

Potatoes, sugar beets and the famous Taber corn are just some of the crops often associated with this part of the country. 

But if a recent trend continues, our region may be home to a crop with a much less publicized presence in southern Alberta — hemp.

Already, about 30,000 acres of hemp is being grown in the area, a far cry from 2013’s figures.

“It’s starting to take off, and guys are interested in other crop alternatives instead of other traditional commodities,” said Ken Coles, general manager of Farming Smarter here in Lethbridge. 

Farming Smarter, Alberta Agriculture and representatives from the hemp industry gathered this week for a hemp crop walk at the research centre, as over 120 people met to learn more about the industry, including Farming Smarter’s research initiatives.

“This is the first time we’ve had any hemp research going on in southern Alberta, so there’s lots of interest and excitement in it,” said Coles.

Ten varieties of hemp are being tested near Lethbridge, as Coles indicated the agronomy research is just in its first phase locally. A full proposal is in the works to examine all of the components involved in successfully growing hemp in this area, which include irrigation schedules, crop rotations and a number of other factors.
“There are a lot of intricacies involved in growing hemp,” said Coles. “It’s very finicky.”

A number of first-time growers have taken the plunge this year. A company called Manitoba Harvest, which produces hemp-based food products, has contracted a number of acres with growers in southern Alberta.
Coles added those contracts make up the majority of hemp acres in the region, though he added there are a number of long-time growers who have been seeding hemp for years here. He estimated there were about 10,000 acres of hemp grown in southern Alberta last year, before the crop took off this year.

“The contracted hemp here is for grain production for the health-food industry,” said Coles. “Everyone is growing it here for seed.”

But in the future, hemp may be poised to take ever a bigger leap forward, as a company has also expressed interest in building a hemp-processing plant, which will use fibres from the plant.

“There’s so many things you can make from it,” said Coles, as hemp can be made into clothes, rope or even paper. “It’s a very good crop, and we know it can be grown here. Now it’s more on the details of how to grow it.”
Mike Duckett, of Stemia Group Ltd., who also presented as part of this week’s event, said the company is still exploring a southern Alberta project, which would use 50,000 tonnes of hemp straw a year to make materials for the construction industry, including pulp and paper. He added that would require about 50,000-60,000 acres of hemp. He facility would also process flax.

Part of the work going forward will include studying the differences involved in growing hemp crops focused on seed production versus those grown for their fibres. For now, it all starts with the trials Farming Smarter is currently conducting, according to Coles.

“We’ll see how the varieties perform this year and hopefully we’ll have an expanded agronomy program next year.”

A Natural Concrete Made of Hemp

By Christine Walsh
Source: jetsongreen.com

Using concrete as the primary construction material leaves a huge carbon footprint, which is why building green should focus on minimizing the use of it. Hempitecture is a firm, which is striving to create more awareness for one such green alternative, namely hempcrete, which is concrete made of hemp. However, since industrial hemp is still illegal in the US, hempcrete has to be imported, which raises the price of this building option.

Hempcrete uses the inner woody core of the hemp stalk to make a mineral matrix, which forms a non-toxic, carbon-negative, and energy-efficient building material. Hempcrete is easy to make, since it only requires the core fiber of the industrial hemp plant, a mixture of natural minerals, and water. The resultant hempcrete is completely non-toxic, carbon-negative, and energy-efficient, which makes it one of the most sustainable construction materials available today. The wall system made of hempcrete is also very breathable, has great natural insulating ability and is easy to work with.

Hempcrete is also continually absorbing CO2 during the curing process, since the lime used to make it needs CO2 to completely solidify. A breathable lime-based render is used as the finish for Hempcrete. In the event that wood cladding is used in the construction process, there must be space left for the air to continue to interact with the hempcrete wall, which allows for the material to continue to absorb CO2.

Hempcrete is a very versatile building material, and can easily be used as infill in a traditional stick frame building, especially since hempcrete is also very lightweight. While it may be more expensive to use hemp as a building material in the US, due to the higher cost of importing it, energy savings over time do offset that cost, provided the house itself is designed to be sustainable.

Hempitecture is currently in the process of raising funds for the construction of the first non-residential building made of hemp in the US. The house is to be built in Idaho Base Camp (IBC), and they are currently raising funds via Kickstarter to cover the costs of building with hempcrete. One of the main reasons for this project is to use hempcrete to build a non-private residence, since all such buildings in the US are private residences, meaning that people cannot see and experience for themselves the benefits of using hemp as a construction material.

Big push for Tasmanian hemp industry

By Tony Briscoe
Source: abc.net.au


PHOTO: Tasmanian Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff addresses the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Conference (Tony Briscoe)

THE state government today announced easing regulations for Tasmania's industrial hemp industry.

The state's peak industrial hemp body says growers currently have to deal with five departments, but they are hopeful all regulations can fall under the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) from now on.

"We also support the use of industrial hemp products in food as it would open up new markets for the industry and will continue to lobby strongly for federal approval," Minister for Primary Industries and Water Jeremy Rockliff said.

Currently, mainland companies are importing hemp products from overseas but Tasmanians are having trouble supplying hemp, despite containing mostly negligible amounts of cannabis' active compound, THC.

Industrial hemp struggles in Mancos test plots

By Tobie Baker
Source: durangoherald.com


Scott Perez of Mancos posted this photo on July 14, showing the 
progress of his hemp crop, on Hemp Talks/Western Slope, 
a Facebook page.

MANCOS – A week after the summer solstice, a Mancos farmer planted an acre of hemp, outlawed in Colorado until 2014. Under ideal conditions, an acre of industrial hemp could equal paper production from 2 to 4 acres of trees.

“The things we learn this year will help as we move forward,” Scott Perez recently posted on Hemp Talks/Western Slope, a Facebook page. “I believe that we can have a thriving local industry.”

On the page, he offered the encouragement to his Pleasant View peer, Merle Root. She germinated hemp seeds inside an egg incubator and planted a 50-foot by 30-foot plot in late June.

“Hemp growing project here is not going too well,” Root posted over the weekend.

With 150 visible plants, some up to 8 inches tall, Root watered the crop twice a day.

“I have many more weeds than hemp,” she said.

According to Perez, controlled tests revealed a 15-to-20 percent germination rate from the seeds he planted. In the field, rates were closer to 10 percent, he said.

Perez and Root agreed that seeds should have been planted in May, when there was more moisture in the ground. They are the only Montezuma County farmers among more than 100 in Colorado approved by the state to grow research-and-development plots of industrial hemp this year.

Perez indicated securing different varieties of industrial hemp seed would also be beneficial next year. He predicted it could take five years or more to find the best strain for the region.

“There is a lot of public support in this area for our work,” he said. “And finally, even though we don’t have bumper crops, we have hemp growing where it hasn’t grown for decades.”

Root intended to grow 10 acres of hemp this year on her 1,200-acre family farm. She was able to secure only a single pound of seed from a secondary source, stemming in part from seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Chris Boucher, a hemp-seed importer based in San Diego, explained only sterile hemp seeds could be received under the nation’s current tariff codes. He reported two 1,000-kilogram pallets of hemp seeds remained stuck in customs.

In addition to seed issues, advocate James McVaney cautions that the verdict remains whether industrial hemp could be a viable product in Southwest Colorado, adding that alfalfa grown on irrigated land earned approximately $1,000 per acre.

To compete, a certified and registered high-yielding hemp cultivar capable of producing more than a ton of seed per acre would be required, McVaney said.