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Hemp fibre – a champion of natural fibres

Hemp fibre is a bast fibre similar to flax, kenaf, jute and ramie. All bast fibre plants have long slender primary fibres (bast fibres) on the outer portion of the stalk as well as wood-like inner core fibres.

The technical characteristics of hemp fibre leads to its use in innovative as well as traditional fibre products.

Bast fibres are usually used for textiles (including carpets and clothing) and industrial uses, such as geotextiles, erosion control blankets, and composite reinforcements and fillers - the largest biggest current and future use for hemp fibre. The high strength and economical features of hemp fibre make it a sought after replacement for fiberglass and synthetics in a range of molded composites including: car parts, construction materials and also consumer goods.

Advantages of using hemp for fibre in industry include: excellent physical properties in strength and modulus, cost effectiveness in composite and paper applications and increasing availability. A wide range of fibre formats and qualities are now possible. Hemp fibres can be fabricated to be lighter, stronger and cheaper than fibreglass.

The wood-like inner core fibre of the hemp plant can be used for animal bedding (animals don't eat it and it is highly absorbent), garden mulch, and an assortment of building materials such as hempcrete.

Hemp's use in industry is also attractive because it can be grown and manufactured in accordance with sustainable and ecological principles.

The economic reality of hemp is that hemp cannot necessarily compete with waste products (wood, straw, stover etc.) on price. Products such as biofuels or Medium Density Fibreboard are technically possible, but competitively cost-challenged. Hemp is valued between 4-10 times that of waste fibres so it must find its way to the right products markets and products.

However, with the rising cost of resources worldwide, hemp is becoming more economically competitive. In particular, hemp could replace many bioproducts of petroleum, including plastics and composites products.

A processing challenge for the hemp industry has been that while every other industry has developed since 1938, hemp has not had the chance or the funding to develop the infrastructure to process the harvested raw material into usable and valuable raw materials. Establishing commercial processing for hemp fibres is, in some ways, a game of catch up.