Hemp can grow naturally in the UK, is a valuable and sustainable product with thousands of known usages and doesn’t require huge amounts of fertiliser and pesticide. So why is very little of it grown?
A short history of hemp in Britain
Early evidence of hemp being grown and used in Britain can be traced back as far as the Roman times and beyond. Hemp rope has been found and dated to 140 AD at the Antoine Wall and cannabis pollen samples from Old Buckingham Mere, Norfolk have been placed at around 400AD. Evidence of its growing and use since then is plentiful and varied; reports of hempen rope use for the navy as well as writings advising the growing of hemp because of its many uses. Much of this rope came out of the town of Bridport, partly because it was prime hemp growing countryside, but also because it was given a royal charter giving it a monopoly on the trade. Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Dorset and Kent were the main hemp growing counties.
Current attitudes towards Hemp
Hemp is stigmatised because of its association with marijuana, despite industrial hemp (the type used to make rope, clothes or any other hemp products) doesn’t actually contain marijuana. This has meant that its growing has been controlled and licences are required to grow it. However, due to the rise in interest in environmental issues, popularity of hemp has grown in recent years. The amount of land under cultivation continues to grow and demand is increasing, including car manufacturers substituting polypropylene for hemp in door panels. And this is over sixty years after Ford first proposed the idea of making cars out of hemp! (see this video)
Why is hemp so environmentally great?
As a fibre: the growing of hemp uses a lot less herbicides and fertilisers than for cotton or other equivalent fibres and gives a soft, silky and durable thread.
As a paper: trees take a very long time to grow and then once you’ve cut them down and made paper out of them, you have to wait a long time for them to grow up again. With hemp, you’ll have a faster turnover of the product and therefore will be constantly helping lock away the carbon currently in the atmosphere quicker.
As a plastic: by mixing a conventional plastic with hemp fibres, a strong and durable plastic can be made by using up to 90 per cent bio-derived material. Zelfo is one company that currently does this and have products such as musical instruments and light fittings that are mostly organic material, saving the oil that would be going into such products.
As a fuel: either as bio-diesel or biomass fuel, hemp is carbon neutral because any CO2 created in its burning is offset by the carbon being absorbed in growing.
As a concrete: after a little research, I have even found a concrete which is made from hemp. This material, Tradical Hemcrete, actually locks up more carbon in itself than is released in its production. It is also renewable and, because of the insulating effect of the plant material, the necessity for cavity walls is also eliminated!
As a locally made product: if the hemp is grown and processed nearby, the energy and emissions from transport will be lower.
What are we going to do about it?
Well, anyone who has land to spare can grow hemp. They can get help and support from the hemp processing company Hemcore and their hemp will go into paper, car door panels and Hemcrete, amongst other things.
Anyone else, who doesn’t have land, can simply buy hemp products. By doing this, you are helping the environment more than you can imagine! When you do, also consider where the hemp has come from. Hemcrete uses British grown hemp and the animal bedding from Hemcore is all British grown. As for other products, most producers don’t say where the hemp was grown, but hopefully companies will reveal their sources in future!