The Impact Series: Industrial Hemp

Hemp manufacturing is re-emerging as a global industry, having historically been a major traditional industry in many parts of the world. The factors driving this re-emergence are many, and include various commercial and ecological considerations. 

The fastest-growing segment in this regenerated industry has been textiles; unsurprising given hemp’s long history of use as rope, sailcloth, clothes, etc. However, hemp is also seeing significant use in other industries and is the subject of exciting research and development activity in yet more, including; cosmetics, food and beverages, livestock feed, paper, construction materials, bioplastics/ composites, biofuels, and energy storage. 

Activity in hemp is growing in every continent. European countries like France and the Netherlands have long-established companies working within a regional ecosystem, which is now seeing both demand and competition from new European operators, as well as emerging players in China and North America. Chinese hemp cultivation has now surpassed any other country, making China a major global supplier. The United States has greenlit the entire industry to a large extent with the 2018 Farm Bill and is taking lessons from Canada, which already has a well-established industry. 

Many Latin American countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand, are also seeing prosperous early-stage markets, and African nations are laying foundations for major hemp industries based on their advantageous climates and pre-existing local expertise. The potential for hemp’s application in industry in ways which support the three pillars of sustainability – social, environmental and economical - is now being embraced. It is a crop with soil-regenerating properties, it produces carbon-negative raw materials, and it is multi-purpose; each part of the plant has the potential for use. This presents socially responsible business opportunities, and while it is not a panacea for all sustainability issues, it offers economic opportunities based on ‘green’ alternatives to conventional products. 

More work is required to see the global industrial hemp industry flourish, and this is already underway in many countries, with rising education, government support, supply chain improvements, and technological optimisation around the sector. The industry is still in its early stages, and it is now the time for players to seize the opportunity to join the upsurge in interest. 

This is especially true in countries where opportunities are harder to come by, including less economically developed states in Subsaharan Africa, where the hemp industry offers the chance to enter a quickly growing, global, sustainable industry at an early stage. As the costs of entry into the market are relatively small, and the potential so large, it represents a low-stake investment with the possibility of a huge future return. 

The infrastructure of the global industrial hemp industry is now being built, and the pioneers of its construction stand to gain considerably.

The Impact Series: Industrial Hemp report includes:

• An overview of the global, industrial hemp industry
• Insight into industrial uses of hemp
• Information on hemp and sustainable development
• Environmental benefits of hemp cultivation