include lightweight construction, crash behavior, deformation resistance, lamination ability and price.
Since 2009, the need for hemp fibers in the automotive industry has continued to increase: new models from almost all automotive companies that will be released on the market this or next year do have considerably more interior parts, made once again with natural fiber reinforcement. On the one hand this is due to the high development of the materials and the fact they have proven themselves in practice, but on the other hand it is also due to the increasing interest by the automotive industry in bio-based materials and lightweight.
The European auto industry isn’ t the only entity taking notice of hemp’ s uses here in Europe. Hemp is being grown in increasing quantities to meet the growing demand for hemp-based products, such as textiles, composite materials, construction supplies, paper products, foods and nutritional supplements.
Actually, for more than 2,000 years hemp has been an important raw material for industry in Europe. Hemp fibers were used for technical textiles such as ropes, hawsers, boat canvas as well as clothing textiles and paper. In the 1990s, hemp was rediscovered throughout the world as an important raw material for bio-based products in a sustainable bioeconomy and has been in high demand ever since.
Do you know where the most important hemp cultivation and manufacturing regions in the USA are located? That was a trick question America, because they are only located in Europe and China.
So, take note, USA: You may be the land of apple pie and have legalized marijuana in Washington and Colorado, but you need to get with what is hemp-penning in Europe and make better use of hemp!
Sincerely hoping you get more involved with hemp, Binger Hashman
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