THTC came runner up in the 2007 Observer Ethical Awards for 'Best Fashion Product'.
- All factories that THTC uses comply with ISO 9000 standards – (international organisation of standardisation) The hemp is trucked to the mill for de-gumming and processing into fibre. No caustic soda is used during this process, keeping it as environmentally sound as possible.
- The T-shirts are manufactured by people who receive full safety training, and belong to a labour union. The minimum age of employees is 19, the maximum age being 54. They work 8 hour shifts and have weekends off - (That’s more than us at THTC central!)
- All our Hemp is grown on small family farms in North Eastern China. It is and always has been grown organically
- All our certified organic cotton is also grown in China. This is a fledgling industry that THTC supports and saves the energy and expense of shipping in from Europe or India.
- THTC now uses water based inks (comply with GOTS) with a discharge screen printing process for almost all new designs.
- Eco Paper is used for poster printing, and will soon be used in all THTC flyers, swing tickets and catalogues.
Farming
It's possible to grow hemp
organically on most of the world's farmland. There are many varieties that can be selected for their various
characteristics - high oil content or fibres of particular lengths - with seed banks holding over 100 strains
of industrial hemp.
A rapidly growing plant, hemp chokes out other weeds, has a strong resistance to most pests and so can be grown with other legume crops, maturing in just 8-12 weeks fulfilling it nitrogen requirements.
With a long tap root able to reach water, bind and aerate the soil where other plants can't, hemp crops can be used to reclaim land in areas prone to drought ( e.g. African Sahara) or flooding.
Once harvested the crop has a high yield of cellulose, edible proteins, oils and fibres with over 50,000 different product applications across a whole array of industries.
A long and very strong 'bast' fibre, hemp fibre has been used for thousands of years to manufacture clothing, twines, ropes and cordage, and is an excellent complement to fibres such as flax, silk, nettle and cotton in fabric blends. It can be used to produce many weights and blends of fabrics for applications, from the heaviest sofa cover to the finest ball-gown. Hemp fabric also has natural anti-mildew, UV protection and thermodynamic and hypoallergenic properties, making it desirable for use in many products. The fibre also has applications for 'fibreglass' and in paper-making.
Cellulose
As a bio-fuel, as a source of paper pulp, in chipboard and MDF for use in construction, as an eco-cement, as insulation, for animal bedding and furniture stuffing, as fuel-logs. Hemp cellulose has a myriad of uses.
Seed
An incredibly nutritious protein source, an excellent seed oil for skin and digestion, cosmetics, paints, varnishes, binders, burning oils, animal feed and more.
A crop for the future?
With modern farming in big trouble, farmers are being paid not to cultivate their land, and food mountains are burnt in developed countries, while billions of people go hungry in developing countries. Hemp represents a lifeline crop for rural and hunger-prone areas, of particular value for its' versatility and organic nature. A famine-stricken village could clothe, house and feed themselves from one hemp field!
In the developed world, we still rely on machinery from the turn of the century to harvest and process emerging hemp crops. Gradually, new processing machinery is being designed and implemented, and present machinery converted so that the new hemp crops are just as easy to process as cotton and hay.
The hemp plant has been used for
thousands of years as a source of high quality, raw fibre for use in making paper. In China, from about AD150, historical evidence suggests the hemp plants' involvement with the paper industry.
Up to 90% of the worlds' paper manufactured before 1883 was made from cannabis hemp, and some historically important documents were written on hemp including the Gutenberg Bible and the first two drafts of the US Declaration of Independence.
Deforestation is considered by many to be one of the most serious and dangerous practices in the world today. We are destroying the very source of our oxygen and bio-diversity to pump out, amongst other things, daily newspapers that continue to lie to the public about many things, from world wars, to the benefits of using hemp as a sustainable crop.
Hemp produces 4 times the raw material than trees for paper making. Hemp can be planted between 1-3 times a season, depending on location and can be recycled up to 10 times, compared to 3 or 4 for wood pulp paper. The same fibre products that the hemp harvest produces also provides raw-materials for a host of other sustainable products.
Check out the links page to find out more.
If today is a typical day on planet Earth, we will lose 116 square miles of rainforest, or about an acre a second. We will lose another 72 square miles to encroaching deserts, as a result of human mismanagement and overpopulation. We will lose 40 to 100 species, and no one knows whether the number is 40 or 100. Today the human population will increase by 250,000.
And today we will add 2,700 tons of chlorofluorocarbons to the atmosphere and 15 million tons of carbon. Tonight the Earth will be a little hotter, it's waters more acidic, and the fabric of life more threadbare.
Not only does hemp make strong, light and bio-degradable plastic, it was also used in the creation of Henry Ford's 1941 car as pictured.
image to the left: Henry Ford tests the strength of his car made out of plant-based materials including Hemp.
Read more about Henry Ford's plant-based car at Hemp Plastic
Also, watch a footage of Ford's 1941 hemp car on YouTube
Read more about hemp plastics, in general, at
Hemp Plastics Link
Concurrent histories of the diesel engine and biofuels are necessary to understand the foundation for today's perception of biofuels, in general, and biodiesel, in particular.
The history of biofuel is more political and economical than technological. The process for making fuel from biomass feedstock used in the 1800's is basically the same one used today. It was the influences of the industrial magnates during the 1920's and 1930's on both the politics and economics of those times that created the foundation for our perceptions today.
Biofuel can be defined as a solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass. Hemp falls under the category of biomass because it is a living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Using Hemp biomass to produce fuel is currently the most under-exploited use of hemp due to its high cost and limited technology available. However, it is a proven fact that hemp stalk can be used to produce energy through a process of "chemurgy," a cross between chemicals and energy. The hemp stalk can be converted to a charcoal-like substance through a process called pyrolysis, and used for power generation and to produce industrial feed stocks.
Almost any biomass material can be converted to create methanol or ethanol, and these fuels burn cleanly with less carbon monoxide and higher octane. In fact, the diesel engine was invented to burn fuel from agricultural waste yet ended up burning unrefined petroleum. Hempseed oil can also be refined to produce a type of hemp biofuel.
Read about the comparison between Petrol vs. Hemp Biodiesel at Hemp Car
Read more about Biofuels Here
The HempNut Story We think HempNut brand shelled hempseed is the most important development to ever happen to hempseed! Most people agree that the outer shell is not very tasty, more for the birds than humans.
Plus it's dirty and has trace amounts of THC on it, not enough to get "high" but you could flunk a drug test. So we took regular whole hempseed and removed the shell...and the result is called HempNut brand shelled hempseed! It tastes like pine nuts and looks like sesame seed.
HempNut can be used in literally any recipe, it's that versatile. Plus it contains about 40% more nutrition than whole hempseed. In fact, it's one of the most nutritious plant foods available, with 36% Essential Fatty Acids (the "good" fat), and 31% high-quality protein (second only to soybean), and very high in vitamins! We use machines and a special process to gently remove the shell, resulting in the first hempseed clean enough for humans. And we don't have to cook it to sterilize, unlike whole hempseed, because shelling naturally renders the seed unable to grow (in accordance with US law).
Since HempNut tastes like sunflower seed and is the size of sesame, you can use it in any recipe. Try it blended in a smoothie or shake, or sprinkled on foods. Roast it in a pan with spices for a crunchy seasoning, or put some in your favorite salad dressing and shake. Add it to your baked goods for a nutrition boost, or use it as a breading. We have yet to find a recipe that couldn't use HempNut! Kids love it, too. Please ask us for recipes, and send us your favorite, we'd love to try it.
And if you have a restaurant, we'll show you how to add it to your menu...just give us a call. HempNut is an exclusive product of HempNut, Inc., which was founded by natural food pioneer Richard Rose, the company's President and "Chief Hemp Nut." After making award-winning soyfoods and tofu full-time since 1980, he realized just how much more nutritious hempseed really is than soy. Now, 6 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, he invented HempNut, a food even better than hempseed. "Not only is HempNut more healthy than soy, it tastes better and has more uses, too," said Richard. "I truly believe that HempNut will be known as the 'Soybean of the New Millennium!'"
Currently the company uses hempseed grown in Europe, Asia and Canada. But not just any seed gets selected to be HempNut. We make sure we get the best hempseed, clean, high-quality, and grown for humans, not birds.
HempNut is the best source of the essential fatty acids Omega-3 Linolenic Acid and Omega-6 Linoleic Acid, as well as Gamma-Linoleic Acid. While most foods have little if any, HempNut is over 36% essential fatty acids, and in "Nature's perfect balance" (1:3). It contains 31% complete and highly-digestible protein (second only to soybean), and is high in vitamins and minerals.
And when at the natural food store, ask for our fine HempNut products: Peanut Butter, Lip Balm, Oil, Cheese, Veggie Burger, Chocolate, Energy Bars, and more!
Watch this segment about Hemp food products on the American news series: The Today Show on YouTube
