flooring pattern giving it a natural hardwood look . Consumers can order custom colors with a site finish .
The story of the HempWood company represents the first industrial hemp factory in the United States . It is companies like HempWood that can promote sustainability through the carbon-negative properties of the hemp plant .
For instance , every square foot of hemp flooring retains . 8 lb – 1 lb of carbon dioxide within the board . The world ’ s fight to reduce the carbon footprint starts with industrial hemp products like hemp wood . The world needs to strongly consider hemp-based products in everyone ’ s daily lives to create a healthy future for generations . There is a reason hemp has been crowned as the “ Miracle Crop .”
The applications of HempWood materials have been applied to several types of builds . The two main settings are commercial and residential . To date , the commercial side is the biggest in that many developers enjoy hearing about the “ LEED ” points they can achieve with hemp wood . Leed points are designed by the U . S . Green Building Council to reward manufacturers for developing environmentally healthier materials and save resources . Hemp wood achieves 14 LEED points on the various certifications , including prefabricated materials , recycled content , bio-based products , and resource-efficient materials . LEED points allow the building materials to pass building codes much more efficiently due to the resourcefulness of the materials .
HempWood didn ’ t stop there with environmental friendliness . The energy used to build the products in the factory passes through a bio burner , which then recycles the energy for lighting . This makes the HempWood factory a carbon-negative designed build .
At the HempWood plant , hemp bast fibers are processed ( above ) and then ( below ) machined to hardwood flooring .
( Photos by Clayton Stallings )
The sturdiness of hemp wood materials is as impressive as the sustainability aspect . The Janka score , which is a measurement of the density of the engineered hardwood , is at 2,200 pounds of force . In terms of hardwoods , density is a measure of the hardness of the board . The denser / harder the wood , the longer the product ’ s life span . The Janka score of hemp wood materials is an astonishing 2,200 lbs / ft . A 2,200 lbs / ft Janka score is equivalent to a Brazilian Cherry wood — one of the hardest natural hardwoods on this planet .
As the prices for natural hardwoods continue to climb through extensive deforestation , hemp wood prices will remain stable or decrease in price as more American farmers grow industrial hemp .
For more information about the HempWood company , see flooring samples , and learn more about hemp wood manufacturing , visit
https :// hempwood . com .
See Native Prairie Hemp Fest info on page 23 .
Mitchell Melber is the owner of Hemp Day , a distribution network for all industrial hemp manufacturers and local cannabinoid hemp farmers . His passion is helping those within the industry , local farmers sourcing hemp products , and consumers through various avenues , including the unique hemp houseboat . www . hempdaytoday . com .