About Hemp

Industrial & Ecological Facts

• Hemp is a sustainable /biodegradable crop; it grows well with out the aid of herbicides, fungicides or pesticides.
• Hemp yields twice as much fiber as cotton per acre.
• 1 acre of Hemp yields 3-8 tons of fiber, four times what an average forest yields.
• Construction products like medium fiber board, strand board, beams, studs and posts can be mad out of hemp. Because of hemp's long fibers, the products will be stronger and /or lighter than those made from wood.
• Hemp can replace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation, oxygen production & carbon sequestration - reducing global warming.
• Hemp can be grown in most climates and is tolerant of a wide range of conditions, as well as a high degree of salinity in the soil.
• Hemp oil can lubricate machines. Most paints, resins, shellacs and varnishes used to be made out of linseed (flax) and hemp oils.
• All petrochemical-based products, as well as plastics, can be made from hemp oil.
• BMW is experimenting with hemp materials in automobiles as part of an effort to make cars more recyclable.
• Hemp can produce a clean burning fuel.

Durability & Health Facts

• Fabrics made of at least one-half hemp block the sun's UV rays more effectively than other fabrics.
• Hemp is an amazingly durable fabric. When washed it constantly reveals a new surface, becoming softer with use.
• Hemp fabric rapidly absorbs moisture, which accounts for its coolness and comfort when used for clothing or bedding. Because of its strength when wet, it does not weaken with washing.
• Carpets and rope can be made of the hemp's thicker, stronger fiber. The finest hemp fiber is delicate enough to be woven together with silk.
• Kimberly Clark, on the Fortune 500, has a mill in France that produces hemp paper preferred for bibles due to its superior archival quality for both longevity and anti-yellowing.
• Hemp seed and oil is an excellent source of protein. At a volume level of 81%, hemp oil is the richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, Omega-6 & Omega-3. It is also high in gamma linoleic acid (GLA), a rare nutrient found in mother's milk.

Historical Facts

• Hemp has been grown for at least 12,000 years for fiber (textiles and paper) and food.
• George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper.
• When US sources of "Manilla hemp" (not true hemp), used for rope and cordage, was cut off by the Japanese in WWII, the US Army & US Department of Agriculture promoted the "Hemp for Victory" campaign to grown hemp in the USA.
• The federal government subsidized hemp during WWI and US farmers grew about one million acres of hemp for that program.
• Because of its importance for sails (the word "canvass" is rooted in the word "cannabis") and rope for ships, hemp was a required crop in the American colonies.
• A 1938 Popular Mechanics article described hemp as a "New Billion Dollar Crop".