Save The Corporations From Themselves | Organic Cotton and Hemp Products

Save the Corporations
from Themselves 169 Main Street
Brattleboro, Vermont
05301

Hours: Mon - Sat: 10 - 6
Sun: 11 - 5

Phone: (802) 254-4847

Fax: (802) 254-7358

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Why Hemp?

Hemp Twine Hemp has been an agricultural mainstay for mankind throughout history. Hemp can be grown without dependence on herbicides and pesticides, and if it is grown in rotation with other crops, it can be the foundation of a truly sustainable and non-polluting agriculture. Currently, the United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn't allow its farmers to grow hemp. A victim of the drug war, the government makes no distinction between high-THC cannabis (marijuana) and low-THC cannabis (industrial hemp). Vote Hemp, Inc. points out that the two varieties of Cannabis are genetically distinct, "much like a St. Bernard and a Chihuahua are very different breeds of Canine. It is not possible to extract a drug from the industrial hemp plant, and industrial hemp can't 'get you high.'"

Hemp is a bast fiber plant, meaning that it yields fiber from the stalk of the plant.The stalk is 30% fiber and 70% cellulose. (The cellulose, or "hemp hurds," have great potential for building products and even biofuels.) The hemp fiber is processed much like flax is processed to make linen. Also, its seed is a good source of usable protein and oil that is rich in essential fatty acids.

The current market for hemp in the United States can be defined in several broad categories.

Clothing made from hemp fabric (either manufactured in the U.S. or abroad).
Food products made with hemp seed or seed oil.
Hemp-seed-oil-based body products, such as face creams, shampoos and soaps.

A lot of these hemp-seed-based products come from Canadian crops. (Canada has allowed hemp cultivation since 1997 and most of the crops are for seed.)

Save the Corporations from Themselves has a large selection of clothing and accessories made from 100% hemp or from hemp fibers blended with other natural fibers such as organically grown cotton, silk and wool.

We feel that the great untapped potential for hemp agriculture for the U.S. is:

Hemp as a source for paper--moving away from tree-based papers. An acre of hemp yields 4 times as much paper as an acre of trees. This can be done on an annual basis as long as soil fertility is maintained.
Hemp as a source of building products. For example, "hempcrete" is being produced in the UK (hemp hurds in concrete). Another example is pressed hemp hurd particle board that is superior in strength to wood-based particle board.

A number of states, including most recently North Dakota and Vermont, have paved the way for farmers to grow hemp. The bottleneck is at the federal level. For a farmer to grow industrial hemp, he or she would need a Marijuana Tax Act license, but the DEA has never awarded one. There is currently legislation at the federal level to distinguish hemp from marijuana.