Hemp has been a center of debate for a while. With the stigma attached to Cannabis for its most popular usage, the general public has been hesitant to accept help. This variant falls under the scientific name Cannabis, into their daily lives until recently. The biggest reason behind this change in perspective is the relentless effort of B Label, one of the very few companies in India manufacturing and producing Hemp clothing.
Initial Hype Behind Hemp Clothing
B Label is a brand under a Mumbai startup, Bombay Hemp Company (Boheco), the first startup in the country to partner with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to study the use of Cannabis in medicine that has managed to find investors in Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, and Google India’s managing director Rajan Anandan.
Its association with such big names caught the attention of extensive publications like Verve magazine, Economic Times, the Hindu Business, and many others in the big media circuits. These publications covered the company and its origins and values in various articles. This was the start that initiated the public interest in Hemp and the possibility of sustainable fashion.
Benefits Of Hemp
B-label further caught the attention of the media publication The Business World, India, which made an exclusive feature highlighting the benefits of using Hemp as clothing material. The article particularly points out that Hemp clothing is sustainable and produces zero waste.
One kilogram of cotton uses up to 20000 liters of water; if that alarms you, there is also the issue of chemicals. Over 30 percent of pesticides are used on cotton plants alone! Imagine the soil pollution induced by the wide demand for cotton materials!
Hemp Can Replace Cotton
Media giants like Huffington Post have also marveled at the fashion industry’s dependency on cotton, which leads to monocropping, which is very harmful to the soil and the environment. With Hemp as a clothing material, we have found the ultimate environment-friendly alternative! Hemp is UV resistant and antimicrobial and requires very little water and pesticides to grow a large quantity of the crop. Hemp also grows through carbon uptake, which helps reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Using Hemp for clothing alone reduces one’s carbon footprint tremendously, but surprisingly, it only improves. Hemp can also be used to make shoes, housing items, and even food! Imagine the difference you could make in the growing concern over global warming and chemical wastes by just promoting the growth of the Hemp Industry!
Hemp is widely grown in the entire Himalayan belt, which has the world’s most extensive wild cultivation and needs to be utilized. B Label’s parent company, BOHECO, is one of the few companies granted permission by the government to grow Hemp for industrial use where the production of industrial Hemp is banned. B Label has taken this a step further by employing rural women living along the Himalayas to produce hemp fabric and contribute to the economy. This employs women in rural areas and, in turn, increases the per capita income and the status of farmers and local artisans.
Various Well-Known Personalities promote Hemp.
Since it was publicized, the move to promote Hemp and its sustainable consumption has seen a lot of support. Tathagata Satpathy, an MP from Odisha, gained a lot of attention when he walked into Parliament wearing a hemp kurta. The Obama Government in 2016 also acknowledged the efforts of promoting hemp products by inviting BOHECO to attend the 7th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit as one of the 10-15 India/American India companies to participate in the event.
Hemp – The Super Plant
The hemp plant is a super plant to reckon with. From Verve to Forbes, everyone acknowledges the power of Hemp to replace cotton once the stigma attached to it is removed. With phenomenal properties, Hemp can be one of the plants that can be a one-stop solution to all problems. With the drastic rate at which the environmental conditions of the earth are deteriorating, Hemp can be the welcomed solution that is waiting to be acknowledged and accepted.
Disclaimer: This article was initially published on Blabel. in
