Hemp clothing is making a comeback, marking the hemp textile industry’s latest resurgence in the clothing sector. Researchers say the reasons for the surge include hemp’s notable sustainable and eco-friendly characteristics, and its return on investment.

According to a March 26 press release, Allied Market Research, the hemp clothing industry is on a trajectory showing steady growth into the next decade. The global hemp clothing market size was valued at $2.29 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $23.02 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.1%

Allied Market Research analysts explained the factors that make hemp an attractive investment in 2024, besides being a breathable and durable fiber.

“Hemp fabric requires less water, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides than other fabrics,” the report reads. “It has a lower carbon footprint than many other crops because it is effective at removing carbon dioxide from the environment. In a growing season, one acre of hemp will absorb 10 to 15 tonnes of CO2, which is equal to the typical annual CO2 output of one person.”

There are more reasons hemp is more eco-friendly than alternative textiles, which includes the beneficial uses of hemp seed as well.

“Hemp is up there on the list of eco-friendly textiles and fibres with jute, organic cotton, flax (linen), and bamboo,” the report continues. “Animal bedding and insulation can be made out of hemp fibre from the stem and hemp seed, respectively. Hemp is also good for the soil. If hemp was originally planted in a field, the production of maize from that field will be higher. Following the harvest of hemp, it’s also a good idea to sow wheat and barley. Some producers are trying to get hemp and cannabis growing certified as organic because of all the potential environmental advantages.”

“According to studies on consumer behaviour, between 2000 and 2014, the average customer purchased 60% more clothing, yet they only maintained each item for half as long,” the report continues. “The sobering facts showing the amount of pollution and harm to our rivers, oceans, and atmosphere the fashion industry is responsible for have been in the spotlight. An estimated truckload of used clothing is burned or dumped every second. Many residents are worried, yet the cost and time commitment of the present sustainable fashion solutions are substantial.”

Allied Market Research was founded in 2013, offering high-quality syndicated and customized market research reports, consulting services, and insights into leading market players, startups, investors, and stakeholders.

The numbers overlap, and are similar to predictions about the hemp fiber industry overall. 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 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 Fabric Industry Is Nothing New

The hemp fabric industry was alive and well centuries ago, and came in waves. Textile World called hemp “one of the original textile outputs,” where it flourished for centuries. Hemp fabric gained popularity as early as 4,000 BC (or earlier) in Asia. And then it was a staple clothing textile until being dethroned by Indian cotton around the 13th century.

Hemp—despite having no psychoactive effects—got lumped with marijuana as the plant was demonized in the U.S. throughout the past, particularly in the 1930s.

Industrial hemp saw a resurgence when it was formally relegalized in the United States with the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill removed industrial hemp from the list of banned substances in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The effort to legalize hemp kicked off in 2014 with several bipartisan legislators initiating a push for the legalization of industrial hemp with a series of legislative efforts. 

Section 7606 was included in the original 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed the creation of state-led pilot programs and sanctioned the investigation of hemp for varied commercial and industrial applications. Kentucky was the first state to institute a hemp pilot program under this new legislation. The 2018 Farm Bill formally made commercial production of hemp legal. 

Hemp as a fiber presents a safer investment versus hemp-derived cannabinoids, which are facing a series of legal challenges state by state, as legal loopholes in the Farm Bill paved the way.

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A hemp-based battery manufacturing company is coming to a town in Wisconsin with 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. According to a Dec. 21 press release, development will focus on:

• Industrial batteries: Creating energy storage solutions that enhance the efficiency and reliability of solar and wind power systems and maximize efficiency of connections to the grid.
• Hemp carbon batteries: Innovating a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries by utilizing hemp carbon as a key component. These batteries will offer improved energy density, longer lifespan, reduced environmental impact, and utilize domestically produced raw material thus addressing the national security risks associated with global lithium sourcing.

WinBat CEO Jeff Greene said Portage will serve as an ideal place to build a new renewable energy battery power plant, given the skill set that former Energizer employees already possess.

“Obviously having 400 to 500 trained employees that are knowledgeable in the battery makes that area seemed right for a new battery company,” Greene told WMTV. “Most of the folks we’ve talked to, cautious optimism is kind of where we’ve gotten them to. They had fear and I think we’ve turned that fear into cautious optimism.”

The Wisconsin Battery Co. is a research, development and manufacturing company owned by the Sustainable Communities Corp., which is dedicated to advancing energy storage solutions that contribute to a more sustainable and clean future.

Greene said he got the idea when he was lobbying for a Florida-based hemp company that asked him to find the top five ways in which hemp fiber could be best used. “The people (in Portage) have been fantastic,” he said. “We have asked and received tremendous support from the people helping us. I am very blessed that the response has been so exciting.”

Gaining Local Support in Portage

The company gained local support. The City of Portage supports the goal to move forward with the plan. At a Dec. 7 Common Council meeting, city officials gave Greene 90 days to come up with a building plan.

Portage Mayor Mitchel Craig is cautiously optimistic, after Energizer decided to leave Wisc

“This is going to be huge for the city of Portage,” Craig said of the new plant that’s planned to open in the city. “The Energizer plant employed 225 people, and it is projected that within six years they will have 600 people working at this new facility.”

Wisconsin Battery Co. will focus development on the production of hemp carbon batteries as a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries as well as the production of industrial batteries, which make energy storage solutions for solar and wind power systems more efficient and reliable.

The company plans to grow and hire 600 employees within the first six years of operation. Their goal is to start where Energizer left off, creating batteries to be used in hearing aids. The long-term goal is to produce two innovative batteries that will offer improved energy density, longer lifespans, and reduced carbon footprint.

More information will become available in the upcoming months. Greene and Mayor Craig will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2024, in Portage, where they plan to share more information about the project.

The company is focusing operations in Portage now, but will consider building another plant in Fennimore, where Energizer is also closing down another manufacturing plant.

Why Hemp for Batteries?

“Nothing outlasts the Energizer,” but hemp may do exactly that: Hemp advocates say that hemp batteries last eight times longer than lithium batteries, outperforming graphene for a fraction of the cost. Battery makers process hemp’s woody pulp, formint it into carbon nanosheets, which they used to build supercapacitors that behave better than graphene, the industry gold standard

Much of the energy used to extract and process battery components like lithium comes from CO₂-emitting fossil fuels.

The “Hemperor” has been telling us about these benefits all along, which also apply to the manufacturing of batteries. “Government and oil and coal companies, etc., will insist that burning biomass fuel is no better than using up our fossil fuel reserves, as far as pollution goes; but this is patently untrue,” Jack Herer wrote in The Emperor Wears No Clothes, citing several sources.

“Why? Because, unlike fossil fuel, biomass comes from living (not extinct) plants that continue to remove carbon dioxide pollution from our atmosphere as they grow, through photosynthesis. Furthermore, biomass fuels do not contain sulfur. This can be accomplished if hemp is grown for biomass and then converted through pyrolysis (charcoalizing) or biochemical composting into fuels to replace fossil fuel energy products.”

Replacing graphene for use in batteries is just another way hemp can be used for more sustainable energy. 

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Plant symbiosis with microbes makes terpier weed.

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A social enterprise non-profit called Common Knowledge based out of Ireland, along with an England-based hemp farm called Margent Farm, are teaming up to create tiny homes made from hemp.

Referred to as Tigín Tiny Homes, each building was crafted with three goals in mind: “sustainable, affordable, and consciously designed.” A single home covers 20 square meters (about 215 square feet if you’re using U.S. measurements) and offers high ceilings to give the home a “lofty, bright feel.” The bedroom is large enough for a king size bed, located on a mezzanine level, but the living space includes a pull-out guest bed. Other necessities, such as an oven, gas hobs, a sink, a shower, and even a compost toilet, can fit into the modest homes. Underneath the home, insulation is made from “breathable cork across a framework of pine.”

The hemp comes into play as a part of the exterior of the homes, which will use corrugated hemp sheets from Margent Farm. “The fibres sequester carbon, locking it in and stopping it releasing back into the atmosphere, resulting in a very low-carbon product. The high cellulose content (60 – 70%) of the plant makes it a very strong and durable material. The sheet is bound with a sugar based resin made entirely from agricultural waste. Our hemp sheets are a natural alternative to corrugated steel, PVC, bitumen and cement,” Margent Farm says on its website. “The sheets can be used externally to form a rain screen or internally as ceiling or wall linings or other acoustic treatments. The product is natural and like timber exposed to UV the colour will lighten over time,” Margent Farm continues.

Margent Farm also shares that making these sheets takes 5.7 times less energy than it takes to make aluminum, 2.6 less energy than bitumen plastic, and 1.5 less energy than galvanized steel.

Best of all, Common Knowledge will offer training classes to teach people how to make these homes for themselves, or to repair their homes, in order to “empower people to take action on the housing and climate crisis.”

“Ultimately, the plan of our Tigín project is not just to build these Tiny Homes, but to teach more than 200 people with the skills to build these or any other project themselves, whilst creating and releasing a free-to-use blueprint at the end of this year,” said Common Knowledge founder Fionn Kidney.

According to Åvontuura, the tiny homes are currently available for sale, and will cost between €55,000-€60,000 (nearly the same in USD). Fifty percent of people who have inquired about the homes have shared that they’re looking into a tiny home as a main residence, while about 10% say they want to buy one “for their children to help them escape the rent trap.”

“With many people currently impacted by a severe housing crisis, we believe a tiny home can provide an affordable solution, which is both highly adaptable and completely mobile,” said Common Knowledge. “We wanted to create something that would be useful, both in terms of offering a housing solution to people without the time to create one themselves, whilst enabling others to do it themselves.”

As the world continues to explore eco-building opportunities, hemp is being considered as a prime material for sustainable building. Hemp paper could very well be the future of printing, and it can also be used as a food for cattle. It has even been experimented with in car and airplane construction.

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Meat consumption is rising globally (starting with the U.S.). The American market alone is worth about $270 billion annually, out of a market worth about $1.5 Trillion dollars globally. Unfortunately this is also a vertical which is increasingly unsustainable from the climate change perspective—forget the moral issues involved. As Mr. Rogers famously said, he could not eat anything that had a mother.

Less prosaically, cow farts are the top agricultural source of greenhouse gases. Each cow emits about 220 pounds of methane annually. As a result, reducing methane emissions via transitioning the planet to animal-protein-free alternatives is also seen as the biggest opportunity to slow global heating in a relatively short 20 years or so. Given that this single source also creates about a third of the human-caused methane emissions, this is a significant issue. Particularly as other environmental efforts to halt the impending climate emergency—such as switching to solar and other fossil fuel free energy sources—are still so politically problematic.

That is also an impactful thing to say in world now suffering from a(nother) global heatwave this summer.

In Germany, where recreational cannabis reform is now in the offing, the topic is getting serious attention. Not to mention some funding. For example, the University of Hohenheim (in Stuttgart) was given a million euro grant last year from the regional government to study how hemp could replace protein-rich foods—from schnitzel to tofu and pasta.

No matter its “crunchy” reputation, the animal-free protein sector is also a highly significant market. Forty percent of the meat substitutes currently produced globally are sold across Europe. This is one of the reasons that the E.U. has actually moved ahead fairly quickly on this aspect of cannabis reform. This market is also expected to reach about $28 billion globally by 2025. That is good news for early adopters who are making the switch to vegan alternatives for health and environmental reasons—forget the economic incentives. The more mainstream, the faster broader adoption will be. This is good news too. The more animal slaughter can be reduced, so can the breeding of animals for this purpose.

The Superfood That Is High in Protein

There are many wondrous aspects of the cannabis plant. One of them is that hemp seeds are a superfood full of vitamins and other nutrients. Beyond this, the seeds of the hemp plant can contain as much as 25% protein—making them similar to egg whites. The seeds also contain all essential amino acids and are easy to digest. The end result creates a chewy, meat-like texture that is highly satisfying to consumers.

Not every hemp variety, at least according to German research during this study so far, creates the desired results. The scientists involved in the investigation are currently growing 20 varieties of hemp in test plots.

The idea is to create an extensive supply chain throughout Europe, while also increasingly the local food self-sufficiency of Baden-Württemberg located in the south-west corner of the country and bordering France and Switzerland. It is a part of the world known for a few globally recognized symbols including the Black Forest plus the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz headquarters.

It is hard to get more German than that.

This is, however, just one example of the coming hemp-based protein-replacement craze. The entrepreneurial endeavours necessary to drive the market demand beyond the lab are by now scattered all over Europe. In Estonia, one firm has even got a rather catchy name for their product—Crump. It probably tastes like chicken, even though it is designed to be a “protein crumble” designed to replace ground beef.

Beyond Europe, the trend is clearly global. A firm called Leaft Foods based in New Zealand received $15 million in financing this spring to grow its line of products that include not only beef but other animal-based protein substitutes.

Can Cannabis Help Heal the Planet?

There is no one panacea for global warming—or environmental disasters caused by the industries of the industrial revolution and the 20^th Century. However, the much-maligned cannabis plant appears to hold many of the answers. From helping detoxify areas of land blighted by gold mining to reducing the first world’s dependence on animal protein—and of course beyond this, the medical efficacy of the plant—cannabis is starting what many assume will be a global ascendency in the next decade.

It is not hard to understand why. The mandate for trying to keep a limit on global warming is evident (again) this summer—even as multiple countries struggle politically in a world with much more expensive fossil fuels. Cannabis reform is creating a different narrative around such issues—from energy to meat substitutes, beyond medicine.

One thing is for sure. If there was a plant with the power to if not heal the world but significantly fix it, it would be good ol’ Cannabis sativa.

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The legal cannabis industry produces millions of pounds of plastics each year. These brands are trying to make a difference.

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Creating a sustainable cannabis industry is harder than it seems and there is a huge case for making weed more eco-friendly.

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Explore what it means for Al Harrington and Jarrel Howard to build on the idea of Black family in the cannabis industry.

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Is your green…green? These Canadian brands put sustainability first so you can feel good about your weed.

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Growing green doesn’t mean you’re being environmentally-friendly. Learn how to make cannabis more sustainable with these ecological tips.

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