China leading the Hemp revolution
With the world facing increasing environmental pressure from the use of unsustainable materials, hemp is making a slow and steady comeback across the globe.
But reporting in publications such as The Economist and Forbes show China is becoming a world leader in industrial hemp production. The question now becomes “is the hemp revolution about to go up a gear?”
Just how much?
China is currently growing nearly half the world’s legal hemp. In 2018, hemp sales topped $1 billion USD, mostly on the back of textiles made from hemp stalks.
But with the global demand for hemp products rising, demand for seeds, leaves and flowers is growing too. Producers are seeking seeds for their use in foods and oil as well as leaves and flowers for the cannabidiol (CBD oil) they contain.
In June of 2018, the United States took the step of approving the first use of CBD oil in medicine. Using CBD oil as a treatment for epilepsy, other countries sure to follow their lead.
What else is driving demand?
Demand is also being driven for a variety of uses currently occupied by petrochemicals.
For example, hemp is being used to make biodegradable plastics. Switching to hemp helps slow the 8 million tons of plastic ending up in our oceans every year. Even German luxury car manufacturer, Porsche, is using hemp-based material in one of its cars.
All exciting prospect for our planet!
What next?
Hemp growth and processing is still in its infancy, with a few kinks to work out. Currently there’s an imbalance between growers and processors. There are also some issues with quality assurance across the industry, and uncertainty in the future of regulations.
Hope for the Hemp Revolution
But with China’s massive economy on board with industrial hemp production and processing, and with other countries starting to expand hemp farming, the issues hampering the hemp industry should resolve quickly.
In the mean time, stay tuned and join the hemp revolution with our range of sustainable ethically produced hemp products!
