Sustainable Planet

Cotton Reigns King but Hemp is Staging a Comeback


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Once a cornerstone of American agriculture, political interests in cotton led to the ban on hemp production. Though having many similar uses, hemp wins the environmental battle against cotton. From clothing to canvas, paper to plastic, Jorden and Kimberly compare the versatility and sustainability advantages of the two plants, weighing hemp’s chances as a viable rival to cotton.

Key Topics Jorden and Kimberly discuss include:

  • How a Canuck one-ups a Yank on the American history of hemp
  • The laundry list of uses for all parts of cotton and hemp plants
  • Why the Great Depression spawned the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act
  • How astonishingly more sustainable hemp is than cotton
  • Why China is the biggest hemp producer, with France in second place
  • Why your next home might be built from hemp
  • Recommended Resources

    • The, apparently, only comparative sustainability study ever done on cotton versus hemp
    • Increasing US government support for hemp
    • A house built of hemp
    • Robust data, or so claims the US Cotton Trust Protocol on cotton sustainability
    • Kimberly's Substack newsletter
    • ...more
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      Sustainable PlanetBy Kimberly Weir