Hemp Fiber is the Difference Between a Billion & Trillion Dollar Industry

by Jeanine Buckley
Mar 13, 2018
3 min read

Bruce Dietzen's Cannabis Car is made from hemp fibre

Bruce Dietzen built his famed cannabis car from hemp fibreglass using hemp textile to manually create hemp fibreglass used as panels for his car. Using Henry Ford's journals, Dietzen was able to custom mold his hand-crafted sportscar into the sustainable car of his dreams. Only problem? Since hemp cultivation was illegal in Florida, he had to import hemp textiles from Romania to create the hemp fiberglass. His concept car was so successful, he's had over 200 requests to build one, but his attempt to commercialize it fell on deaf ears.

That's not to say that there's not a market for hemp composites in the automobile industry; it's still a small undeveloped industry. Several high end automobile companies are now using some hemp composites. BMW started experimenting with hemp in the early 2000s. By 2006, their entire Series 5 was made from hemp. Lotus, the British sportscar company created the Eco-Elise, whose body was made from hemp fibre, however, the 2008 launch date coincided with the financial crisis. Mercedes has also been experimenting with flax and hemp in its e-class. The bottleneck is occurring because hemp fibre processing is still prohibitively expensive, and the few existing processors all have the same complaint--not enough hemp grown locally to reach critical mass.

While CBD oil is soon approaching a billion dollar industry, once hemp fiber processing reaches critical mass, its possibilities are exponential. "Hemp is around 77% cellulose, which is why it so versatile and valuable," said Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech. "The tensile strength can be very high, meaning it makes a great thread, string and rope, as well as fiberglass-like material, and biodegradable plastics, which are very safe, strong and light," claims Jason Lauve, Director of Hemp Cleans.

Another application of hemp fibers is in hemp textiles. Today's hemp fibres can be transformed into many different types of fabrics. The growing region determines the resulting fabric; for example, the hotter and dryer the region, the better for sturdier, burlap-type fabrics, whereas cooler regions produce thinner stalks that are geared for softer, linen-like fabrics.

Mainstream brands like Adidas, Quiksilver, Patagonia and others are adding hemp clothing to popularise hemp as a garment fibre. Today, there are many brands like Woolrich, Cannabeings Designs, Hemp Authority and Fashion United.

Finally, hemp fibers have a huge potential in construction with the development of hempcrete, used to form insulating floor slabs, ceilings, and roof insulation. Hempcrete forms the wall and insulation in one piece. Hempcrete is often used in restoration projects to upgrade the thermal performance of traditional and historic buildings. It is a medium density natural insulation material with thermal mass, and is breathable, allowing moisture, so problems with mold disappear.

What are the priorities then for hemp fiber? First, having industrial hemp descheduled completely will dramatically improve the investment prospects for the industry in general. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act HR3530 before Congress plans to do just that. Only 8 more votes are needed to pass it. The 2014 Hemp Farming Act actually distinguished industrial hemp from cannabis so that pilot programs could be developed on a state-by-state basis. That's why it's crucial that the remaining 5 states of Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho, South Dakota and Iowa develop pilot programs so that all 50 states will have legalized it in some form or another. Each state has its own Hemp Industries Association, so grass roots movements can start here. Iowa is one of the most crucial states to pass leglislation--hemp legislation has been attempted since 1998 but has been roadblocked every year.

Investment in processing will then serve to incentivize the farmers to grow hemp on a large scale. However, much more collaboration globally will encourage technology transfer and synergies. Hemp processing equipment in Holland and Germany has progressed much faster than in the US. In China, existing decortication methods could at least keep hemp processing moving forward with existing levels of hemp cultivation. The states of Nebraska, Colorado, Oregon, Kentucky and North Carolina all have processing capabilities but need to work together to share information and learning. Fiber processing needs to become the spoke to jumpstart the hemp industry.