Outdoor Retailer PostShow - Summer 2019 - 14

The Pulse

H E A D L I N E S

Is hemp the old
green or the new
green?

By Jenn Fields

The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill
may not have been big news in the
outdoor industry, but a provision
in it that legalized hemp put it
squarely in the sights of companies
trying to meet a demand for products made with more-sustainable
materials and sourced with a lower
carbon footprint.
Hemp isn't just strong and
durable. It's also fast-growing
and creates a reliable carbon sink.
Before the 2018 Farm Bill, farmers in the U.S. could only grow
industrial hemp (which has only
a trace of the psychoactive THC

14

compound) in states that had included it in cannabis legalization
measures. As a result, companies
like Patagonia, which has been
using hemp in its range for 20
years, have sourced most of their
hemp fiber from China.
At a Summer Market panel
entitled, "Developing a Sustainable Hemp Fiber Supply Chain in
the United States," members of
the nascent industry in the U.S.
discussed how to build that infrastructure here.
"Since the 2018 Farm Bill, it's
been completely decriminalized
on a federal basis, so the markets
are open," said Guy Carpenter,
president of Horizon Hemp, an
industrial hemp-products provider (think seed and starter plants)
and consulting company based in

/ SUMMER MARKET 2019

ECO-FRIENDLY
BEACHWEAR
At the Show, apparel brands
continued to tell sustainable
stories. Based out of Denver,
Colorado, CG has a line of
beach shorts with Repreve, a
sustainable performance fiber spun from recycled plastic bottles. The brand, which
made its name for winter
gloves and mittens, was also
showing its Soleado top, a
light sun-blocking, breathable
shirt with a spacious zippered
kangaroo front pocket named
for the Spanish word for
"sunny." -C.V.L.

ROLL WITH IT

Coolers were hot at Summer
Market. Riding in the wake:
cooler accessories. Gofr makes
modular systems designed
to enhance the cooler experience. At the Show, the brand
debuted its four-panel anodized aluminum wrap, which
can be tricked out with a series
of optional add-ons like a cell
phone holder, pliers, or LED
lights. It also features a patent-pending four-wheel cart
that turns a standard cooler
into a rolling machine. -C.V.L.

L AU R E N DA N I L E K ( X 2 )

GROWING A
HEMP SUPPLY
CHAIN IN THE U.S.

Virginia. "There's no longer any
hesitation about taking CBD or
hemp fiber or stalk or grain from
one state to another. And the opportunities continue to grow."
The U.S. is behind in research
and development in hemp. "Right
now, in established countries-
Canada, France-they've got two
decades on us," said Bert James, a
farmer and crop consultant who
pushed farmers in North Carolina to the forefront of the industry
with an agricultural pilot program for hemp. "What we've got
to do is encourage [experts in
those countries] to partner with
us. It could mean so much to the
supply chain."
So, what's missing in the U.S.?
Everything from the best seeds
to best practices and processing
facilities. "We have been working
closely with various local supply
chains in trying to help them understand what's required of their
[hemp] fiber to be spun with
cotton or polyester," said Tom
McCall, an innovation consultant
with Cap Yarns. "The real issue
is developing the right processing and procedures-getting the
refined fiber you see in China and
France, and other countries in
Europe."
Eric Henry, president of TS
Designs, an environmentally
friendly T-shirt maker, said
all the pieces are in place, but
one thing is lacking for the
U.S. hemp market to become
a serious player in the outdoor
industry: commitment. "It's
the perfect chicken or egg: Is
the farmer going to make the
commitment or is the industry?"
he said. "We need the brands
that are interested to step up
and make that commitment, so
when a farmer produces hemp,
[outdoor brands] will buy it.
Outdoor Retailer PostShow - Summer 2019

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