Hemp is a versatile material with cross-sector impacts

Cannabis popularity has been increasing steadily around the globe and now many experts are looking at the potential one of its subspecies, hemp, could have. As a material, in various industrial sectors from textiles to construction and even plastics products, hemp offers many opportunities to reshape the current status quo and become one of the most important materials of the near future.

Since the cannabis legalization process gained global momentum, much has been said about its medicinal and therapeutic potential, as well as the huge market that awaits behind the regulation of marijuana for adult use. 

However, the cannabis plant offers a far greater potential still and today we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. 

One of the most popular subspecies of cannabis is Hemp, which does not possess much of the psychoactive effects of marijuana, but does have the ability to be used as a material in the textile and construction industries.

In fact, industrial sales are expected to triple in the next 7 years, rising from $ 4.71 billion in 2019 to $ 15.26 billion in 2027.

If you want to know more about cannabis, how hemp could be exploited as versatile material across numerous sectors, and to find out the latest hemp news, download the Hemp.im mobile application.

Hemp has the potential to change the industrial sector

Steve DeAngelo, one of the most recognized cannabis activists of the last decades, says that hemp has the ability to replace virtually any petroleum product. 

“Hemp can be grown without pesticides. Captures 22 tons of atmospheric carbon per hectare. It is a powerful phytoremediator that extracts industrial poisons from contaminated land. And it is also a powerful tool to control erosion and remedy unproductive or marginally productive land.” he expressed.

DeAngelo added: “We are only now harnessing the potential of the industrial hemp plant as a rotating crop with regenerative agriculture qualities. For example, Bob Hoban was a key figure in the development of state policies for several countries in the process of legalizing cannabis. Among them, Uruguay was one of the most resonant case in South America.”

A replacement for cotton in the textile industry

The textile industry is a key sector which is experiencing the disruption of hemp, especially as a replacement for cotton.

Hemp fabric can be processed to be lightweight, soft, breathable, and durable, replacing most uses for cotton in the textile industry. Considering that cotton represents 43% of the fibers used for clothing and textiles in the world, hemp has huge potential.

Iconic jeans company Levi’s recently announced a pilot project to replace 27% of the cotton in its jeans with hemp, as part of an overall sustainability push. Why? Cotton requires much more water, pesticides, and soil than hemp.

It is estimated that cotton accounts for 10% of pesticide use and 25% of insecticides globally, while hemp, due to its resilience, requires very few chemicals to grow. To be precise, one hectare of hemp can produce three times more clothing than one of cotton. This is because the fibers for industrial use are extracted from the stem of the hemp plant, which is thin and grows tall, allowing it to plant about 150 plants per square meter.

Numerous luxury hotel chains have also joined the hemp craze, and hemp fashion brands have partnered with influencers like Bella Thorne to further democratize their ideas.

Possible construction implementations of hemp

Hempcrete, concrete made with hemp and lime, is lighter, more resistant to fire, mold and moisture than regular concrete. “It can be made as strong as ordinary concrete and captures atmospheric carbon as it dries,” adds DeAngelo. 

In addition, it can be used beyond structural purposes, as a thermal and acoustic insulator. But hemp is not only useful, it is also strong. “Its fibers are stronger than steel,” says Bruce Linton, co-founder and former CEO of Canadian cannabis giant Canopy. 

The executive just created Collective Growth, a “blank check company” that raised $ 150 million in less than two months and debuted on the Nasdaq in May with the goal of creating a global industrial hemp empire.

For its part, BMW already uses hemp plastics in several of its electric car models including the i3 and i8, but they are hardly the first. In 1941, Henry Ford had already presented a model whose body was built entirely in bioplastic hemp, and ran from biofuel made from cannabis.

Hemp bioplastic can be used for endless applications including bags and boxes and, unlike synthetic plastics, it is produced from renewable and biodegradable materials. Giants of the packaging industry such as Sonoco Products, Constantia Flexibles, O. Berk, Klöckner Pentaplast and MG America have already declared interest in the versatile material.

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(Featured image by ryan lange via Unsplash)

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First published in Ambito, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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