| Tuesday 29th
July 2003 saw environmental organisation BioRegional hold an open
day at a hemp field in Battle, East Sussex to demonstrate new hemp
harvesting and processing technology developed by Australian experts
Fibrenova. BioRegional are working with UK hemp processor Hemcore,
spinners and weavers to produce samples of UK grown and processed
hemp fabric using fibre processed by the new machine. Engineers
from Cranfield University are evaluating the technical and economic
feasibility of the technology for use in the UK. Attendees included
the National Farmers Union, Marks and Spencer and the DTI among
others. The day also included a presentation with fibre samples
and information to inspire and interest.
This Feasibility Study is supported under the England Rural Development
Programme by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. It also
has the generous support of WWF Cymru and Marks & Spencer plc.
The feasibility study will be completed at the end of the year.
Fibrenova have brought their pilot scale machine to the UK for this
trial. The first full scale Fibrenova machine is being built by
Australian agricultural machinery manufacturers Williames Hi-Tech
International Ltd, ready for the Australian hemp harvest in November.
The new technology is expected to be cost effective, producing high
quality hemp fibre at prices which will allow it to compete in the
global textile market.
To evaluate the environmental impacts, The Stockholm Institute will
also be carrying out an ecological footprint analysis of UK hemp
versus cotton & synthetics.
BioRegional Vision
BioRegional aim to see hemp textile production established in the
UK with hemp garments and soft furnishings available on the High
Street, strengthening the regional economy and providing an alternative
to unsustainably produced cotton and fossil oil based synthetics.
In a sustainable world, locally produced hemp textiles would supplement
imports of organic, fair-traded cotton garments.
Why hemp?
Textiles such as cotton have a very high environmental burden, with
cotton causing the greatest environmental damage of all textiles
and accounting for 14% of the world’s pesticide use. It is
also the world’s most water-intensive crop and has had disastrous
consequences in areas such as the Aral Sea.
Hemp is a low input alternative to cotton that is easy to grow organically
in the UK. It requires no agricultural chemical inputs and is not
water hungry. Over 2000 hectares of hemp is currently grown in the
UK primarily for horse bedding and non-woven car interiors.
Hemp is also a cool, comfortable and attractive product with similar
properties to linen. It is cool to wear in the Summer and softens
with use, also creasing less than linen. Hemp was used to produce
the original Levi’s jeans.
The global textile market is 55
million tonnes and is increasing at 4% per year. Cotton reached
its maximum possible production in 1990 and its share of the market
has been declining since then and has been taken up by synthetic
(polyester) fibres. Cotton now forms 33% of the market, synthetics
53%, despite consumer demand for natural fibres. There is clearly
potential for hemp to develop a share of the textiles market.
New technology
BioRegional have a history of research into the potential of hemp
for textiles, and produced the first UK grown and produced hemp
clothing for decades in their 1996 trials resulting in a stylish
jacket designed by Katharine Hamnett.
Hemp textiles are currently only produced in Asia or Eastern Europe
either by hand or using machines which would be uneconomic and inefficient
for use in the UK. BioRegional have identified new technology developed
by Fibrenova, an Australian company, which revolutionises the harvesting
process by producing a fine white fibre within days of harvest.
Economically viable
If UK textile producers could use materials produced in the UK,
local trading links and regional economic development would be strengthened.
Initial trials in Australia indicate that hemp textile fibre could
be produced at comparable prices to cotton.
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