Beyond the Baja

Hemp S02E10 - The Manchurian Candidate


Listen Later

This episode looks at claims the way operators, buyers, and regulators do—not as messaging, but as risk. It asks a simple question with uncomfortable implications: what actually has to exist for a hemp fiber claim to survive contact with scale?

This episode isn’t about hype or optimism in the hemp fiber industry. It’s about why so many sustainability and regenerative claims sound reasonable early on, gain traction, and then quietly fall apart when procurement teams, lawyers, or regulators start asking basic questions. Not because the intent was bad—but because the system underneath the claim never existed.

I walk through how claims function inside stressed supply chains, especially in U.S. hemp fiber, where language has repeatedly outrun infrastructure. We break down the difference between commitment claims, action claims, and performance claims, and why confusing those categories has created real exposure across agriculture, textiles, and bio-based materials.

A central focus is on on-label claims—the most exposed claims a company can make. Once a statement hits a hangtag, label, or spec sheet, it stops being marketing. It becomes a declaration that travels with the product, crosses borders, enters procurement reviews, and invites scrutiny. This episode explains why that moment is where many hemp fiber narratives fail.

Finally, The Manchurian Candidate connects credibility to incentives. As the show reaches new milestones and attracts sponsorship interest—often from Hemp 1.0 corners of the industry—the episode sits inside the tension between money and meaning. There’s no clean conclusion here. Just a reminder that in the current hemp fiber market, credibility is being priced quietly—and words, once released, don’t belong to you anymore.



Get full access to Aaron Furman at aaronfurman1.substack.com/subscribe
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Beyond the BajaBy Exploring the Relative Advantage of Hemp with Aaron Furman