Gathering in San Francisco, California
for the 11th Annual Convention, members of the Hemp
Industries Association experienced encouragement about
the success of every aspect of the hemp business. Seventy-two
people attended meetings, dinners and parties over the
three day event. And twenty hemp companies exhibited
at the Green Festival during the weekend. It was educational
and inspiring!
The HIA Board of Directors had a meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 2nd and the following day more hemp enthusiasts
arrived for a reception in the HIA suite at the hotel.
That night, at the Stinking Rose Restaurant, we dined
and honored two members with Hemp Achievement Awards.
Excellence in Textiles was given to Barbara Filippone
of Enviro Textiles, and an award for Excellence in Apparel
Manufacturing and maintaining one of the oldest hemp
retail stores was given to Marie and Teresa Mills of
The Hemp Connection. Congratulations!
On Thursday, Nov. 4th we met for the HIA Annual General
Meeting at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, where Silent Auction
donations were displayed along with Exhibits from companies.
The newly elected Directors were announced: David Bronner,
Shaun Crew (Vice President), John Dvorak (Treasurer),
Rob Jungmann, and Ruth Shamai. Johanna Schultz was appointed
to the HIA Board, replacing Don Wirtshafter who resigned.
She will be the new PR Director, answering the HIA phones
and emails beginning in January.
They join continuing Directors Steve Levine
(President), David Frankel, Lenda Hand, and Mike Sutherland.
The Advisory Board has been expanded to include nominees
and special project managers, including Carson Thomas,
who will be sending invoices for membership renewals,
and Amie Nguyen, Merchandise Manager. The Retail Committee
is being energized with the help of Rob Jungmann who
will be promoting the HIA 10% Discount program and a
cooperative buying campaign will be launched to purchase
bio bags again. Plans to set up an exchange/overstock
program this next year were also discussed.
Georgia Malki of Seven Star Events, producers
of the Green Festivals, spoke about hemp's role in greening
trade shows. They plan to use hemp for booth curtains
and table covers, as well as signage.
The HIA Legal Team: Patrick Goggin, David
Bronner, Eric Steenstra, David Frankel, and Don Wirtshafter
spoke about the extremely satisfying fact that we beat
the DEA! A standing ovation for the team and supporting
companies was well deserved. Thanks to Mintwood Media,
Adam Eidinger and Alexis Baden-Mayer, the press learned
of our victory. And their work on the Air Force tanning
lotion issue is greatly appreciated. A clip from NBC
TV Channel 5 was shown, as an example of the press gained.
Eric Steenstra also reported on the Zogby Poll commissioned
by VoteHemp, which shows support for growing industrial
hemp in America - the next extreme challenge for the
industry!
We heard about the hemp foods and body care market today
and projections for the future. David Bronner reported
on the recently commissioned Spins Report, which showed
an amazing 66.3% increase in sales of hemp foods this
year. And body care had an 11.9% increase. These figures
are from supermarket sales (and only about 1/3 of the
retail market), and do not include bulk sales, like
Nature's Path Granola. French Meadow Bakery's Healthy
Hemp Sprouted Bread is the number one selling hemp food
product. Shaun Crew of Hemp Oil Canada and Ruth Shamai
of Ruth's Hemp Foods shared their successes and challenges
in the food industry. H.O.C. had run at a loss for four
years and is now experiencing a great surge of sales
and looks forward to profit this year with a growth
rate projected at 50% to 75%. About seventy percent
of the crop is organic as a result of consumer demand.
A Canadian Olympian track star has been using Ruth's
new protein powder and has seen excellent results. Ruth's
Hemp-Flax-Maca protein powder was selected by fifty
retailers at the Natural Products Expo East as one of
the five best supplements. Ruth's bars are the most
widely sold of her line of twenty-two products. Expanding
in the US market is crucial for Canadian companies,
and orders increased immediately after the case was
settled.
Lip balm was poorly affected by the DEA
threats, and lotions and shampoos were also slowed.
But that looks to be turning around now too. A Hemp
Victory booth was featured at Expo West in Anaheim,
which helped open the market, because continuing education
for buyers is key. Sue Kastensen announced her partnership
with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps to expand Sun Dog and
make products organic. Gero Leson, of Leson Environmental
Consulting, coordinated the two research projects used
in the DEA court case. Three new projects in research
and development, including protein investigation and
comparison, are currently being planned. Companies are
encouraged to donate money for the studies, which will
be extremely valuable to the global hemp industry.
Barbara Filippone of EnviroTextiles and
Michael Sutherland of PeoplesHemp.com spoke about Hemp
Textiles: the range of products, the latest developments,
and the potential for growth. Barbara announced that
hemp cloth diapers are a big growth sector, and the
US Hockey League is now buying hemp t-shirts. Even police
academies are testing hemp shirts to protect officers
from odor and rashes under their body armor. After eight
years of working with the fabric mills, Barbara warned
people to be cautious of organic claims regarding cotton
fabrics, since it may be grown organically, but processing
and finishing may not be organic. Also, cotton depletes
the soil and uses a lot of water. Studies have shown
hemp fabric to be anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. (Whereas
cotton encourages such growth.) Even more amazing are
scientific results regarding hemp killing micro-organisms
such as staph and herpes simplex! Barbara is developing
a program to label hemp products using the trade marked
phrase, Sustainable Biodegradable Product, or SBP. An
active focus on textiles this next year will begin with
the set up of a buyer's showroom in Los Angeles, featuring
hemp apparel and fabric manufacturers and importers.
Howard Gabe will bring his thirty years of experience
to this project coordination, which will include advertising
in the three primary fashion publications, which will
be instrumental in getting retail buyers into the Hemp
Showroom.
Carolyn Moran and Bob Frankel of Living
Tree Paper Co. educated us about the use of hemp and
recycled content paper in many new applications. All
pulp is now sourced in North America. The music industry
is especially interested and the art community is happy
to use the chlorine free, alkaline art papers. Specialty
papers are the biggest market for hemp. A long list
of universities and companies have signed on to the
movement. Environmental packaging is also an ongoing
project. Adding a printing service has cut down on shipping,
saving money and the environment. Movie and music posters
are another sector contributing to growing sales. Knowing
how to sell to the green market gives an important edge,
and this comes down to education about resources and
processes utilized.
Don E. Wirtshafter lectured on Hemp vs.
Pot, explaining the differences and relationship between
CBD and THC. Two genes are responsible for levels in
cannabis. High THC creates medical varieties and high
CBD creates industrial strains. Twenty years of good
breeding by European scientists helped the regulatory
standards become established in the industry. Testing
done by the seed breeders will continue, and thus will
not be necessary in the field. Genetically altering
the shape of the leaf and other efforts are not needed.
Testing technology is improving in the areas of expense
and ease of use, and current techniques work well. We
have an opportunity to be involved in the review of
Health Canada regulations, so some easement may be forthcoming.
The question of growing these two distinct crops in
close proximity was discussed, with some solutions and
current models presented.
A panel on International Affairs featured
Shaun Crew, President of the CHTA. The Canadian Hemp
Trade Alliance recently held a meeting in Manitoba.
Canada grew 8500 acres this year, but with the rapid
expansion of the market they will have to save enough
seed to increase acreage next year. With drought last
year and too much rain this year it is hoped that next
year will be a bumper crop. Dave Marcus spoke about
the Ontario Hemp Alliance Seed Breeding Project, directed
by Gordon Scheifele. Crucial donations are needed now.
Hempola Valley Farms is featured at this year's Royal
Agricultural Winter Fair where there is a new section
named 'Food to Your Good Health! Mike Fata of Manitoba
Harvest earned the prestigious "Young Entrepreneur
Award" this year. Stephen Meyer, of Switzerland
invited us all to attend Cannatrade, the only European
cannabis trade show to include a large number of industrial
hemp exhibitors. Mike Sutherland spoke about changes
in China and the importance of working with the country
to help with environmental and social justice issues.
The government has officially recognized the growth
of the hemp industry and is more seriously expanding
textiles, hemp fiber pulp for newsprint, and seed crops
for the shelled hempseed market. Hemp Traders is importing
fiber board from China now to supply the building sector.
Shaun Crew, Hemp Oil Canada (a potential
buyer for Lakota hemp seed) spoke about the sovereign
tribal right to grow hemp and the economic potential
of hemp for the Lakota Nation and other indigenous tribes.
Additionally, Friday, November 5th featured
more networking and set up for the Green Festival.
A Vote Hemp board meeting was held, planning for the
next two years and developing a budget and fundraising
ideas.
Hemplobby Contact
P.O. Box 267
Pe Ell, WA. 98572
Phone: 800-963-4367
E.mail: ed (at) hemplobby.org - No Spam
