Hemp Science Explained
The company Naturally Advanced Technology has been on quite a roll lately. They successfully conducted some bulk commercial hemp trials that have already lead to a partnership with Hanes, and the scientists who made those trials a success then won an award for figuring out how to alter hemp fibers so that they could be processed on cotton machinery (it’s called Crailar fiber).
The breakthrough is a big deal because this way, no new machinery needs to be invented and then sold to fabric manufacturers. It will pretty much make processing hemp affordable which, in turn, will make hemp products affordable which, in turn, will fuel hemp industry growth. That’s important because the sooner that hemp can replace cotton, the sooner we can depleting our soil and water supplied just to put clothes on our back.
In any case, here is a clip of that scientist, Dr. Wing Sung, explaining how its done.
Tags: Crailar, Dr. Wing Sung, NAT, Naturally Advanced Technologies, science
Scientists Wins Award for Hemp Work
Nov 24, 2008 News, Press Release
Last week, we reported how Naturally Advanced Technologies (with Hanes) conclude the bulk commercial hemp trials they had jointly undertaken earlier in the year. The result was that NAT’s Crailar hemp fiber was successfully used on cotton machinery, making it a viable substitute to cotton (one of the most destructive crops there is).
Well it now seems that one of the researchers involved in the project was awarded Clean Technology Innovation Award from the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI). Here’s the press release with all the details:
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Crailar, Dr. Wing Sung, NAT, Naturally Advanced Technologies, OCRI, Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation
Hanes and NAT Spin Hemp into Cotton Rival
Nov 18, 2008 News
Just the other day, we were speculating about NAT’s growth rates, and left it up to how the company’s bulk commercial hemp trials worked out. Well, some of the results are already in, and it’s looking pretty good for both Naturally Advance Technologies and the hemp industry writ large.
You see, part of hemp’s biggest potential is also one of its largest obstacle: as a fabric. Now, while cotton needs an immense amount of water (i.e. heavy irrigation), hemp can often subsist on rain water. Furthermore, while cotton is a destructive crop that quickly depletes the soil, hemp makes a great rotation crop while the soil is being left to recover.
The problem with hemp as an alternative to cotton, however, is twofold: (1) it does not make as soft of a fabric as cotton does, and as a result (2) it cannot be as easily spun by machines as cotton can. All this seriously drives up the cost of using hemp as a fabric, which in turn reduces demand for hemp fibres, which in turn discourages the kind of investment required to find a solution to all. It’s all a vicious cycle.
Well, NAT may have solved this problem with its Crailar organic fiber. Crailar is a traditionally spun yarn, but using bast fibers (like those found in plants like hemp), as is consequently a replacement for cotton. Incidentally, Crailar was part of the aforementioned bulk commercial hemp trials. These trials, moreover, were conducted in conjunction with Hanesbrands Inc. (the maker of Hanes t-shirts), and they have not only yielded a way to mass process hemp into a viable cotton substitute, but NAT has already secured a distribution deal with Costco. As Ecotextile reports:
PORTLAND – [17.11.08] An industrial hemp blended yarn has been successfully spun on conventional cotton ring-spinning equipment without modification and then knitted into jersey fabrics in trials sponsored by Hanesbrands Inc.
The hemp yarns were spun at North Carolina State University using fibres made with the ‘Crailar’ enzyme process from Naturally Advanced Technology, which uses enzyme technology to produce soft, comfortable textiles made from hemp and bast fibres that can better compete with cotton.
Tim Pleasants, Spun Yarn Lab Manager, NC State University, said, “[...] This is the first time in my 23-year yarn spinning career that I have seen hemp processed on conventional cotton spinning equipment.”
Earlier this summer, British Colombia-based Naturally Advanced Technologies (NAT) raised nearly US$2 million through a private placement of its shares and more recently signed a new promotional deal with Costco’s US stores.
Overall, NAT’s achievement with their Crailar fiber is a business accomplishment par excellence. Not only have they found a way to replace one of the most destructive textile crops with one of the most sustainable ones, but they’ve secured distribution deal for their go-to-market strategy. This kind of innovation and entrepreneurship is just the kind of proactive approach that the hemp industry needs to overcome the economies-of-scale that its less eco-friendly alternatives have held over it for so long.
Tags: cotton, Crailar, hemp fiber, hemp fibre, NAT, Naturally Advanced T
Hemp Product Manufacturer Reports Third Quarter Results
Nov 15, 2008 News
The same company that recently concluded bulk hemp trials and offered their CEO stock option, has just reported their third quarter earnings. Naturally Advance Technologies (NAT) has reported that, although earnings are up from the second quarter, they are down from the third quarter one year ago. As Market Watch reports:
CEO Ken Barker said, “Our third quarter sales increased 13% compared to second quarter, but declined 10% compared to a year ago, somewhat reflecting the overall economic slowdown. While we believe this may temper short-term sales, we are confident our retail and corporate customers have a long-term interest in our natural fiber garments. This year, we added more retail customers to the distribution network and increased our corporate business, which grew nine-month revenue 21%, compared to the first nine months of 2007. We also increased gross margins to approximately 41% this quarter and 38% year-to-date, indicating continued sound supply chain and operational management.”
In October, the company was wrapping up bulk hemp commercialization trials for both apparel and paper products. It’s possible, the, that Barker’s optimism is rooted in the results of those trials — i.e. he knows something that we don’t know. If through those trials NAT has found a way to cut the costs of hemp processing and pass those savings on to the consumer, it is all that much more likely that NAT will persist through this economic climate where pricier items such as those made from hemp are not expected to sell as well.
Hemp CEO is Offered Stock Options
Oct 25, 2008 News, Press Release
A few days ago, we post about how a company called Naturally Advanced Technologies (NAT) was conducting industrial hemp trials on the bulk commercialization of hemp. The point of the trials is to determine the best ways to bring their patented CRAILAR® Organic Fiber into the apparel and pulp & paper markets.
Well, to reward theri CEO, Kenneth C. Barker, for setting up the partnerships necessary to get these trials underway, NAT is now offering Barker stock options. As the press release reports:
PORTLAND, OR, Oct 23, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (NADVF), a pioneer in commercializing the use of bast fibers including industrial hemp for use in casual apparel, performance yarns, industrial filters and absorbent pulp and paper products, granted a stock option to purchase up to 500,000 shares in the capital of NAT at an exercise price of US$1.45 per share to Kenneth C. Barker, NAT’s Chief Executive Officer. Press release notice of this grant falls under standard compliance requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Miljenko Horvat, Chairman of the board, stated, “We have an extremely talented management team and it is our policy to employ stock options as incentive. This year Ken has led the team in efforts that culminated in two significant milestones: CRAILAR(R) trials for Organic Fibers with a leading U.S. apparel brand and CRAILAR(R) trials for Advanced Materials with one of North America’s largest pulp and paper producers. We look forward to management driving to commercialization with the goal of establishing commercial partnerships.”
The stock option is dated October 14, 2008 and is subject to an 18 month vesting schedule under the terms and conditions of NAT’s existing fixed share option plan. The options carry a three year term and expire on October 14, 2011.
What this means is that, until October 14, 2011, Barker will be able to purchase as many as 500,000 stocks in NAT for only $1.45 USD each. Although stock in NAT is currently only worth $1.45 USD per share, it can go up, and if it does, Barker won’t have to pay more than $1.45 USD a share. So if NAT stock rises to $3.00 a share, Barker can buy as many as half a million shares for only $1.45, and then turn around a sell those share and more than double his money.
All in all, Barker has quite the incentive to keep up his seemingly good work at NAT, and continue to find ways to bring industrial hemp products to market. It will be interesting, then, when the NAT trials conclude in a few weeks, and we start to get an idea of just how much potential NAT’s hemp-based products have in a bulk commercial market (not to mention how much of a rich man Barker stands to become).
Tags: CRAILAR® Organic Fiber, Kenneth C. Barker, NAT, Naturally Advanced Technologies, stock options
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