why hemp?

I fell in love with this amazing textile the first time I saw it. I started using it immediately for the covers of the Once-A-Year books and for the bags that the books come in. Now I use Industrial Hemp for my table linens, cushions, bags and am looking into producing my own line of hemp bed linens. There is so much information about this incredible crop that I could not possibly tell you all about it on this page, but I will talk about its main points since it is still a somewhat misunderstood plant.

First of all Industrial Hemp is not marijuana, it is not a drug, you cannot get high on it. The THC (psychoactive chemical which makes users high) of Marijuana is between 5-20%. The THC of Industrial Hemp is less that 0.0001%. Basically the THC has been bred out of Industrial Hemp.

Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L), also known as ‘Indian hemp’, is one of the oldest crops known to man. It has been cultivated since ancient times for its bast (phloem) fibre in the stem, multi-purpose oil in the seeds (achenes) and an intoxicating resin secreted by epidermal glands. It is thought that C. sativa was one of the first plants to be cultivated and there is general agreement that the plant species originated in China where the greatest genetic diversity is found.

Hemp is a completely natural fibre which requires no chemical treatments at any stage from growing the crop to wearing the garment, unlike cotton or bamboo which are both treated chemically during the processing of the fibre.

Industrial Hemp is able to produce three times more fibre than cotton, using less water and without the need for toxic chemicals. The fibre is stronger than cotton and can be recycled more times than wood pulp.

Industrial Hemp is naturally resistant to insects, and being an efficient ‘smother crop’ is able to clear a field of weeds without the need for pesticides or toxic weed killers.

It can produce two to four times as much pulp per hectare as wood chipping and deadly dioxins are not produced with hemp pulp as they are with wood pulp.

Several countries such as Canada, the UK, France, Germany and many others in the EU are re-discovering Industrial Hemp as an advantageous crop creating sustainable and economically viable industries.

There is a real future in Australia with Industrial Hemp both economically and ecologically. I am a member of the Industrial Hemp Association of NSW which intends to reinstate Industrial Hemp to its proper place in commerce and agriculture. There are amazing uses for Industrial Hemp such as building, food, textile, paper, cellulose based plastic which biodegrade and many more. You can read more about it at the Industrial Hemp Association NSW website.

 

The Industrial Hemp Association of NSW was started in 2010 as a means to help grow the Industrial Hemp industry. Other Industrial Hemp Associations already exist in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania as well as numerous others around the world. We all strive to lobby governments for change and to provide the public with correct information about Industrial Hemp. Being part of the association has been extremely beneficial to me as an individual and a business owner. I have learned a lot about the incredible versatility of this plant which I was completely unaware of before. Everyone is welcome to join the association, we have regular meetings and we work together to grow the awareness of Industrial Hemp in the public domain. Please visit www.ihansw.org.au for more information.