More Hemp

Welcome to our “More Hemp” section of our website. We are really pleased that you’ve taken the time to look at Hemp with us in a little more detail. As you will have gathered from the rest of our website we really are very enthusiastic when it comes to Hemp and the benefits it can offer us and our planet. So we thought that we would take this opportunity to start to explain to you why we feel this way.

Presently the world is just starting to wake up to the fact that our planet is suffering from the effects of climate change. These changes have basically been brought about because since the industrial revolution, unfortunately, all we have done as a race is poison our planet.  We are starting to suffer as a result, seeing the beginnings of extreme floods, extreme fires, the antarctic reaching record temperatures of 18.5c and melting quicker than ever imagined. There are still ways in which if we respond quickly, we can prevent this situation becoming out of our control.  We need to listen to Mother Natures warning signs, change our thinking and the way we live and treat our planet. If we don’t, it is simple, we will become extinct, as the planet will become uninhabitable.

One of Mother Nature’s gifts to us, back when time began, was the very humble hemp plant.  In the beginning, when the plant was originally discovered by the human race, we began to use it and slowly we developed our knowledge and our ability to use this plant for different things. However for many, many years due to misinformation, discrimination and manipulation of power we have ignored this gift and its value. We banned the growth of it, labelled it useless, in some cases harmful and removed it from our everyday lives. As a consequence, the use of it, and development and continued knowledge were really just left.

We feel it is crucial that we quickly address the way we view it, our level of understanding of it, and the ways in which we can utilise this wonderful plant. We believe this could help us address some of the major environmental issues we are now facing.  So to explain why we feel this way we have put together a few simple facts about Hemp for you:

•  Hemp can be used to make bioplastics which are non-toxic and bio-degradable. By choosing to use hemp bio-plastics instead of the plastics we currently use, we could stop exposing ourselves, our environment and the planet to the toxic and damaging chemicals that these plastics give off. Our Seas would no longer be subjected to further harmful toxic plastic waste because Hemp Bio-plastics are bio-degradable and non-toxic.
• Hemp seed oil can produce a highly effective non-petrol chemical that could be a clean alternative to diesel.  The Shiv (stem fibres) from the Hemp plant itself can produce ethanol which can be used to power petrol vehicles. You can also get ethanol from corn biomass but Hemp can produce 4 times more ethanol per acre.
• Hemp has been used to make paper since 100 BC. Paper that is made from wood has a much higher environmental impact than paper made from hemp. Also, trees take years and years to grow and reach maturity whilst Hemp grows within 4 months. Hemp paper lasts hundreds of years longer than tree paper. It’s much more durable and requires no chlorides or bleaches as tree paper does.
• Hemp on average absorbs 4 times more carbon dioxide than trees.
• For every tonne of Hemp produced, approximately 1.63 tonnes of carbon is removed from the air.  Hemp is able to filter and completely regenerate damaged or drained soil and land. It has the incredible ability to remove Highly Toxic Gases and Highly Toxic or Radioactive Chemicals from our soil. Governments all over the world have used and grown Hemp for this very purpose. It was famously used after the Chernobyl Disaster to remove highly dangerous radioactive Strontium and Caesium from the land.  All across the UK, our soil quality is depleting quickly. We have limited years of crop growth left in our soil. This will have a massive impact on our countries farming and its crops and in turn, our countries finances. If we as a country could grow Hemp without special Government Licence our soil, our fields and our land could be completely re-generated with clean, rich soil full of nutrients within 3 years.
• Hemp is now used to make Hempcrete, this is an environmentally friendly alternative to Concrete.  Hempcrete is also the better product of the two options for many reasons:
• Hempcrete has incredible heat retention. It stays cool in the summer and warm when its cold, keeping you comfortable all year round.
• Hempcrete doesn’t give off harmful Gases.
• Hempcrete doesn’t require treatment for problems such as pests, mould and damp.
• Hempcrete walls actually trap carbon from our atmosphere.
• Hempcrete walls are fireproof.
• Hempcrete Houses are sustainable and Eco Friendly.
• Hemp can be used for heating by simply using the WASTE from a processed crop of Hemp. This waste can be compressed into blocks and they can be burnt instead of hardwood. Hardwood or Tree wood as we have mentioned previously takes years to grow and mature in comparison to Hemp which takes 4 months. These Hemp blocks also burn for longer than hardwood, therefore, producing far more heat. They are also made from natural waste which is far more responsible and also financially considerably cheaper than the current Hardwood option!
• Hemp as Power! Hemp can be used to produce and store clean energy.  It is a fraction of the cost of the current energy solutions, its clean, non toxic, sustainable and environmentally friendly.
• Hemp fibres and Hemp cloth were found in a tomb in Egypt dating back to 1200BC so we know we have been using Hemp to make cloth for a very long time. Hemp fibres are very naturally strong and durable making them very resistant to wear and tear. Maybe this is why the very first pair of Levi original jeans were made from Hemp fibre. Unfortunately, Hemp then fell out of favour and cotton became the new and fashionable choice. Cotton production however has a massive negative environmental impact due to the great amounts of pesticides, herbicides and water it requires. Hemp in comparison requires no pesticides, no herbicides and very little water. As a result Hemp production encourages natural habitats for our wildlife to flourish and grow whilst cotton production completely destroys it.

It is estimated that in the UK alone we currently throw away approx 1.3 tonnes of clothing every year. The majority of this clothing will be made up of cotton and flax, meaning it causes huge environmental issues to produce it. Then once in use, due to its lack of durability, it is easily damaged and consequently disregarded causing us another huge environmental issue of what to do with all the cotton waste? 

Blimey, that was quite a lot of Hemp for you to take on board all at once! It is amazing to think that one plant can really do so much. But hopefully now just by understanding some of the ways in which Hemp can be used we can all start to appreciate the vast potential the humble Hemp Plant has to offer us all.  

We believe that we are all going to have to be more responsible for our carbon footprint. Therefore making use of the marvellous resources our planet naturally offers us rather than making destructive choices by purchasing toxic and impactful materials has to be one of the best steps to help our environment that we can all take.

The UK’s Senior Hemp Expert Guy Coxall has dedicated his life to the development of this marvellous plant. Guy is at the forefront of Hemp Advances and Technology and he is the brains behind Hemptank, a brilliant and innovate way for Hemp to be developed and expanded in ways most of us never thought possible. Guy believes that “the hemp industry could reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by up to 80% with the right technology and infrastructure”. With people like Guy working hard to find ways in which this wonderful plant can be used, the possibilities are very exciting.

To support the positive development and use of hemp, please spread the word, be a voice, tell others how Hemp can benefit us all. The more people understand how we can use Hemp, the more people will be asking the question WHY aren’t we using Hemp, WHY aren’t we using this natural solution? WHY when its natural, quick, cheap and fairly easy aren’t we using it?

Please buy responsible and sustainable Hemp products and support the Hemp market. If consumers choose “clean” hemp products and make environmentally conscious purchases we can create change on a huge scale.