The hemp-derived fiber market is growing exponentially. The Business Research Company, a global market research and consulting firm located across the globe, updated its reports with latest data on hemp fiber for 2024 and projections up to 2033, and the projections look promising.

The Business Research Company’s “Hemp Fiber Global Market Report 2024” was published on March 8 and provides a comprehensive source of information that covers every facet of the market. According to the TBRC’s market forecast, the hemp fiber market size is predicted to reach $50.38 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.0%.

The growth in the hemp fiber market is due to increasing legalization to cultivate industrial hemp. Asia-Pacific region is expected to hold the largest hemp fiber market share. Major players in the hemp fiber market include Shenyang beijiang, BaFa Holding BV, Plains Industrial Hemp Processing Ltd., Industrial Hemp Manufacturing LLC, Hemp Oil Canada Inc.

“Hemp fiber refers to one of the robust members of the family of strong natural fibers, which are generated from the cannabis family’s hemp plant,” the report reads. “The plant’s stem is made up of long strands that are used to make hemp fabric. By using a technique called retting, these fibers are extracted from the bark and then spun together to produce a continuous thread that can be woven into textiles.”

The report also identifies what parts of the plant are typically used in the hemp fiber process.

“The main types of hemp fiber are long (bast) fibers, and short (core) fibers. The long (bast) hemp fiber market refers to the soft woody fiber obtained from the stems of dicotyledonous plants and is used for textiles and cordage, the report continues. “The different sources include organic and conventional, and are used in food, beverages, personal care products, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and other applications.”

Researchers divided hemp fiber market segments by the following parameters:

• By Type: Long (bast) Fibers, Short (core) Fibers
• By Source: Organic, Conventional
• By Application: Food, Beverages, Personal Care Products, Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Other Applications
• By Geography: The global hemp fiber market is segmented into North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The market report includes Hemp Fiber Market Characteristic, Hemp Fiber Market Trends And Strategies, Hemp Fiber Market – Macro Economic Scenario, Hemp Fiber Market Size And Growth, Hemp Fiber Market Competitor Landscape And Company Profiles, Key Mergers And Acquisitions In The Market, and many other topics.

Industrial Hemp Uses

Every day, people are finding more uses for industrial hemp. (Just refer to the works of Jack Herer, the “Emperor of Hemp.” Architects, for instance, are increasingly relying on hemp as a cleaner, more efficient replacement for traditional home construction materials. 

A recently published article by The Cool Down (“America’s mainstream climate brand”) detailed how hemp can be “transformed into a material called hempcrete.”

“Hempcrete is a carbon-negative building material made out of hemp, which is increasingly being used in place of concrete. The biocomposite material is created from hemp shiv—the woody core of hemp stalks—and mixed with a binder, such as lime powder, and water,” according to the article. “The result is a tough, adaptable material that can be mixed with varying proportions of hemp and lime depending on its intended purpose.

Hemp is constantly proving to be useful in making other materials and products. A Wisconsin-based hemp battery manufacturing company, for instance, created a goal to hire former employees of Energizer.

Portage, Wisconsin-based Wisconsin Battery Co. (WinBat) makes batteries out of hemp instead of graphene, for use in devices like hearing aids. Earlier this month, WinBat announced that it has acquired 17 acres of land in the Portage Industrial Park to develop its battery plant, a According to a Dec. 21, 2023 press release,

Last October, a variety of hemp plant genetically modified to produce little-to-no THC was approved by the United States Department of Agriculture as safe to grow and breed on U.S. soil. 

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released a notice about the plants last week, created and submitted by Indiana-based Growing Together Research, a biotechnology company specializing in cannabis, hemp, psychedelics and agriculture. APHIS regulates the “movement of organisms modified or produced through genetic engineering.”

“APHIS found this modified hemp is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated hemp,” the USDA notice said. “As a result, it is not subject to regulation under 7 CFR part 340. From a plant pest risk perspective, this hemp may be safely grown and bred in the United States.”

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It was used in the aftermath of the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster during the 1990s. Now research is underway in South Africa that suggests that hemp might be able to clean up some of the most devastated areas of earth—namely South African gold mines.

In a landmark study, funded by the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, a graduate student, Tiago Campbell, a master’s degree candidate in environmental science, is studying phytoremediation as a possible way to regenerate over 400 kilometres of land in the Gauteng, Free State and North West provinces.

This is an area of the planet known for several things. It is one of the richest gold deposits in the world (and has been since it was first discovered). Mining got its start in South Africa in 1852 (copper not gold), but the rush has hardly abated since then. In the 1860s, two of the world’s largest diamonds, including the 83-carat Star of South Africa (aka the Cullinan I diamond which sits in the Queen of England’s gold sceptre) and the 21-carat Eureka diamond were unearthed, which predictably, set off a precious metals and gemstones rush in the country.

Unsurprisingly, it is also a place where several of the top 10 world’s deepest mines are located including the deepest in the world, Mponeng Gold Mine, which stretches up to 4.27 km (just over two miles) below the earth, the second deepest mine, Driefontein Mine (3.42km deep), the third deepest mine (Kusasalethu Gold Mine), 3.38 km deep, the Moab Khotsong Gold Mine, the world’s fourth deepest (at just over 3km deep at its deepest point), South Deep Gold Mine (2.99 km deep), and the Kopanang Gold Mine (2.24km deep). Indeed, the only other mines in the top ten are in Canada and the U.S.

All mining has never been environmentally friendly—to say the least of it. However, the concentration of such activity in such close proximity also creates a perfect storm for a widespread environment disaster zone, toxic to life of the plant, animal and humankind.

There are, according to authorities, over 380 gold mines in Gauteng Province, alone, which contain elevated levels of toxic and radioactive metals including cadmium, cobalt, copper, zinc, uranium, and arsenic.

How Hemp Can Help South Africa

According to Campbell, when reached by High Times, the results of his study so far are not hemp specific as he was also unable to obtain a cannabis license to grow his crops on campus. So far, he has only used a different fiber plant species. However, he also said, “based on my understanding and experience with the cannabis plant, I firmly advocate for its validity and potential for use in phytoremediation strategies. I have been in contact with a team from the Vaal University of Technology who are actively conducting research using numerous cannabis varieties for phytoremediation. The team is truly pioneering this work, I hope to be involved in their work in the future.”

Hemp is known (and South African research is further confirming the same) as a “hyper accumulator” of heavy metals. Further it beats out other plants already studied for their phytoremediation potential including Indian mustard, water hyacinth, alfalfa and sunflowers.

According to the U.S. Environmental Agency, the cost of phytoremediation for removing hazardous heavy metals from soil ranges from 20-50 percent of the cost of more conventional (and expensive) methods.

So far nearly 1,000 plants have been put into soil collected from the polluted areas and all have grown normally in lab tests.

Such plants could not be consumed by either animals or people but could be used downstream as non-consumable plant fiber projects (such as plantcrete).

Regardless, the news is optimistic, and further comes at a time when the entire South African cannabis discussion is headed for high gear.

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Hemp could be the building material that accelerates the sustainable industry.

The year 2020 marked a devastating time period for myriad reasons. Among the pantheon of pain was the immense damage brought on by natural disasters. In early 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its billion-dollar disaster report, calling 2021 a “historic year of extremes.” 

More precisely, the U.S. saw disasters on an unheard-of level that year, witnessing 22 individual billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. From hail to forest fires to hurricanes and beyond, homes, businesses and other important buildings were leveled in the destruction—and numerous lives were lost. 

Hemp hasn’t come up much in the rebuilding efforts. However, a late-August op-ed in The Hill from University of Florida Associate Professor Benjamin Hebblethwaite did make a case for hemp and bamboo in Haiti. Hebblethwaite called concrete structures unsafe, noting that intense weather on the island can weaken diluted concrete, increasing the potential for collapses. As a replacement material, he cited the hemp’s ability to create lightweight hempcrete, which can be used to insulate homes and build bricks. 

Like the U.S., Hebblethwaite cited laws he called draconian for banning the renewable resource. 

As both nations and others rebuild from a disastrous 2020, could hemp materials provide an ecological, more efficient solution? 

Hemp Offers Construction Potential in Many Instances

Like cannabis consumption, using hemp for concrete isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario. For some situations, depending on the construction needs, including local laws, budget and other factors, hemp could be an ideal option to rebuild or when beginning new projects. 

Sources touched on an array of benefits to using hemp. Jacob Waddell, president of the U.S. Hemp Building Association, told High Times that utilizing hemp uses carbon sequestering building materials, replacing current options he said were unsustainable. 

“By utilizing an agricultural product for our materials, we are trapping carbon absorbed during the growth of the plant and preserving it in the building,” said Waddell. 

Volodymyr Barabakh, co-founder and project director of Chicago-based Fortress Home, said hemp works particularly well in damp, humid conditions as it is more breathable than concrete. Noting that most places in the U.S. are prone to natural disasters, particularly floods and hurricanes and have humid summers, he sees hemp potentially aiding in future construction. 

“From a purely structural standpoint, there is definitely a use case for hemp concrete for disaster rebuilding projects,” Barabakh stated. 

Waddell said that homes prone to mold could see health hazards lowered when building with hemp. He added that areas prone to fire also could benefit from a hemp-based dwelling. 

“Hempcrete provides a fire-resistant option that could prevent the total loss of homes that is occurring on an almost annual basis in some places,” he stated. 

Jim Higdon, the co-founder of Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp, said hemp has “huge potential” in construction. He cited the plant’s ecological benefits, noting its ability to grow faster than trees and its annual harvest. 

“Whether as a substitute for concrete or wood, hemp has huge potential,” he stated. 

Jeff Sampson is the founder and CEO of the THC and CBD marketplace Everscore. He believes that hemp should be in the mix when looking to build sustainable structures. Sampson, who also serves as non-executive director for the Native American Cannabis Alliance, believes that the plant “should be given serious consideration by anybody involved in rebuilding efforts, from architects and contractors to owners and administrators.”

Prohibition Likely Driving Down Market Awareness, Increasing Costs

Hemp may be an ideal construction component in many instances. But, for now, its pain points make it difficult for mass appeal. 

Waddell said his industry still must contend with non-optimal performance concerns as well as cost. He cited the drug war and decades of prohibition that limited hemp from legal sales or adequate research and development. 

“As innovation occurs and we get closer to economies of scale, hemp products have the potential to be the best building products on the market,” he stated. 

It isn’t easy to gauge the actual cost of hemp for a construction project. Domestic hemp typically costs between $100 and $200 per square meter, depending on the company. While you can save money by making your own hempcrete from unprocessed hurds, the cost of labor and additional effort often makes this option unworthy for most. 

Barabakh elaborated, stating that without much market demand, the cost for hempcrete projects remains high. 

“It is not popular enough for us to currently have the infrastructure to produce it at scale,” he said. Barabakh further explained that until interest can help lower costs, hempcrete is typically only used on “novelty” projects. 

Waddell added that U.S. law creates additional problems for the plant despite its 2018 legalization. He cited cannabinoid testing and the lack of hemp’s inclusion in building codes as current sticking points for the market. He noted crop testing and the THC threshold hemp must abide by. 

“If these plants are harvested properly, they will be harvested before they go to flower, but still, the entire fiber crop could be destroyed if the plant has a THC level above 0.3 percent,” he explained. 

He calls the current laws a risk to investments, stating that he believes testing laws shouldn’t apply to plants meant for fiber or grain end products. 

He added that the USHBA is working on getting hemp included in building codes, potentially making it a more viable option for housing projects. He directed readers to the group’s website for more information. They’ve also launched a GoFundMe to reach their goal. 

Hemp Not Likely a Factor in Today’s Rebuilding Efforts

Sources say they believe hemp will find its way into more building projects in the years to come. However, that day isn’t coming just yet. As costs remain high and regulations prevent hemp from becoming viable for most projects, it is likely to remain a costly niche option for sustainable endeavors. Therefore, current rebuilding efforts in the U.S. or elsewhere are unlikely to include hempcrete. 

Still, sources remain optimistic for the future. “At this point, the barriers are more about awareness and perception than technical,” said Sampson. “Heightened consumer interest in renewable and sustainable products and processes makes hemp difficult to ignore,” he added. 

“To increase our overall market share, we need to increase the recognition of hemp as a viable high-performance building material,” he said. The task is immense for a single company, but he believes industry can achieve the goal if everyone works together. 

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