MJBizMag July 2021 - 11

Jason
Gonzales
businesses starting to support it-which, then again, starts
to support the farmers and the processors. So, really, (the
goal is) just an expansion and an establishment of the U.S.
hemp industry.
La Pierre: We've worked with Hemp Fortex for the past 25
years or more as a company. They are our primary supplier
for textiles, and they do beautiful things. I've been to those
manufacturing facilities in China and seen some of the
hemp fields. This gave us a unique opportunity to bring
that legacy and the knowledge that they have-and the
textiles they've been making for hundreds of years-and
bring some of that back here and see that knowledge get
passed on and help jump-start an industry that needed
that leadership and mentorship.
correct way to grow? How should they plant? What type of
seed should they use? And then, on the other side, I was
getting all of these calls from manufacturers, processors,
textile people, spinners, who were saying, " All we're hearing
is about this hip, cool new thing called hemp. What is
Patagonia using? How much hemp does Patagonia use? "
So, the more calls that we got as a company, we started
to say: All right, we need to connect these pieces. And we
need to have everyone sit down in a room together and talk
to each other, not just through Patagonia.
That's essentially why we ended up having this
conversation in Colorado in the first place. And it was like a
collaborative melding of the minds, so to speak, for the hemp
industry, bringing each piece of the processing in there.
What is the goal of the Bring Hemp Home project?
Gonzales: One goal is to elevate and raise awareness
around industrial hemp. I think just a center of gravity
around hemp for fiber is something that would be a really
great outcome.
The second thing, in terms of our goals, would be to
increase the amount of hemp being grown in the U.S. and
also the supporting infrastructure that has to go right along
with it to process it. Establishing that supply chain that's
needed-not just from growing it and not just processing
bulk. We don't want farmers and processors to go and
spend a ton of money until we really continue to get some
additional support from the broader industry ... and not just
apparel brands.
Hemp fiber and hurd is used for so many things. If people
are aware of what hemp can do, then I think you'll see more
How will this project help Patagonia source hemp
that is grown domestically?
Gonzales: Patagonia doesn't traditionally go in and buy
retted hemp from farmers or even decorticate hemp from
processors. But the purchase of the finished material on
the end of it needs to happen, and that's certainly where
Patagonia is a contributor to these projects.
We are planning to use U.S.-grown industrial hemp in
our Patagonia Workwear. And we don't necessarily have a
target date specified for that, but it's definitely less than five
years away.
Are other clothing manufacturers involved in the
project?
La Pierre: It's a lot of this chicken-or-egg situation with
other brands. They really are looking for that proof of
concept. It's such early days, but to us, that's OK. You have
to just take those first steps and then just continue to
evolve and get better. But our hope is that we do include
other brands. We aren't just cultivating a U.S. hemp
industry to only have Patagonia make hemp Workwear or
hemp apparel. We want all the big brands to look at hemp,
for two main reasons:
* It will help support farmers and keep them on their
lands.
* What (hemp) does for the soil and carbon capture for
fighting climate change.
So, the more folks that can actually support hemp as
a fiber, the better. And (we) want to help other brands get
access to it if they want our help.
Laura Drotleff writes about hemp and CBD
for Hemp Industry Daily and MJBizMagazine.
She can be reached at laura.drotleff@
hempindustrydaily.com.
July 2021 | mjbizdaily.com 11
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MJBizMag July 2021

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