Revolutionizing the textile industry

Something big is happening right now in the textile industry. Cotton's time of reign as crop number one in clothing is about to change.

Bullshit, you might think.

No, I'm serious. I've gained some inside information about a technology that is about to hit the fan. It's ready to be commercialized and will transform the textile industry.

Until very recent, hemp could not be used in clothing simply because the material was too coarse. It bothers us hempsters very little (Hampisfären, thanks for the 100 % hemp/pirate shirt and pants!), but might be less suitable from a designer and consumer perspective.

What this awesome new way of processing hemp does is... well, a pictures says more than a thousand words - here's four!

Mmmhm, 100 % hemp. Just feel the softness stemming out from the picture.

Oh yeah, and the best of all: being produced into this form makes it possible to use in all cotton spinning weaves.

Stay tuned, change is coming ;)

The coming is dawning ●•٠·˙˙·.

After a very interesting meeting with John Higson this morning, I've become wiser and the onset of action has become more clear.

Here are the strategic plans for the year 2011. Maestro, drumroll!

The festival takes a small detour


After consulting with John, who has tons of experience from arranging and organizing bigger events, the decision was made to make the event smaller this year. For two reasons:

1) In order to make a mind boggling and fun festival that makes a lasting impression on all attending individuals, a lot has to be arranged. The task would be too major to be accomplished within a few months. Therefore we'll be aiming for the summer of 2012. Be excited, because of the right reasons; we'll cooperate with many individuals and organizations from all over the world on this one. Updates on this topic will be posted regularly. If you feel that this is something you want to follow, please subscribe to this blog and comments are welcomed. We're together on this one, remember? :)

2) Because of a smaller event, where the goal will be to achieve a deep impact on the right stakeholders, we want to create a buzz; how critical the role of hemp is in a move to a sustainable economy. The event will be arranged on a roof, in a soon-to-be-ready ecological building in central Stockholm (yes, the ecological building is being built on a roof at the moment of this writing!).

What was written still stands

As mentioned earlier, the focus for all events remains the same; to show the concrete, enticing possibilities of hemp. Seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting hemp is the key.

Therefore all bets still stand. I've already been contacted by several companies who're offering their products to be displayed at this event..

I need to know all the products you guys have to offer and what your primary markets are currently, so that I don't have to do all the research to find out what you already know; waste of valuable planning time. This need for information is vital, since we want to present these product and their usage, at the roof-event in August/September of 2011, in a way that will captivate the prospects.

To give you a hint of what is going down; at the event we're going to serve hemp-based foods (e.g. hemp pesto), have a small fashion show for hemp clothing, display hemp insulation in a creative manner (e.g. can be handled without any kind of gloves or masks), display hemp plastics or composites etc.

Any hemp product you think should be displayed, needs to be heard of.
Therefore, please contact me on my email and tell me what you're offering, what is your primary market and we'll invite the right people from Swedish industries/municipalities/medias/organizations.

Hemp is back!

The dates for the festival

I might be a bit naive about it all, with people saying it's impossible to make this festival happen this soon. I say: aim for the stars and land on the moon.

On Tuesday I'm meeting with John Higson, the man who was the initiator to "100hus"-project, which brought a bigger district in Stockholm under one banner. Simply put, the "100hus"-organization has contact with all the residents/businesses in one hundred of the houses in Hornstull neighborhood. Pretty much all houses.

It is exactly in this district that we'd like to have this festival. Last year they had a three day festival in the end of August, that had more than 100 000 visitors. If it is possible, we would like to sync our festival with theirs.

In the case you're unable to attend or have agents in Sweden for your products, let them know. We're going to arrange something this year, no doubt about it. It might not be as full blown as we'd like to because of such short notice. But something will go down. And if there is a will, there is a way. Stay tuned.

"Hemp is back"-festival, Stockholm, later summer of 2011

The greatest service that can be rendered to any country
                                                               is to add a useful plant to its culture

                                                                                           - Thomas Jefferson

Awareness

Dear reader,

the time has come to do your duty. The duty of a responsible, thinking, feeling, independent human being. The duty to stand up for truth, justice, compassion and sustainability. The inherent instinct of survival is our nature, so why do we then work against it? Against our survival, against nature.

Look around the world we're living in.

The strife for economic advantage has driven this planet to a disgrace. What good will the money you're making be, if you can't breathe the air, drink the water nor eat the foods without getting dangerous toxins into your body?

Enough. We are all aware of this suffering. What is to be done, is the question?

To become aware of the solution. It's right in front of us, if you look at it without prejudices.

The solution is hemp.

As we are still way too few who've understood the truth of the matter, we need to bring awareness to the larger public. How they've been deceived into believing, that the most precious plant this planet has to offer is one not to touched, not to be looked at, not to be tasted - subdued into believing, through manipulation and fear of the unknown. 

Awareness is the key. To spread the concreteness of the plants benefits, to make people understand it in the concrete form, not the abstract one. To really experience hemp in all of its forms; only then will we be able to return it to the role it was meant to have in humankind's symbiotic relationship to nature.

Therefore, no more passive waiting. Awareness must spread and it must spread in a way that it can't be denied. Touched, smelled, tasted, seen and heard. Once awareness is achieved, demand soon follows.

This is the presentation of the "Hemp is Back"-festival. I'm intent on arranging, in Stockholm, the greatest fair/festival/market/street fest yet to be seen in modern history. The greatest in the sense of concrete social and environmental value.

The festival 

Therefore I call upon you, whoever you may be, to do your duty for the benefit of yourself, whole of nature and it's inhabitants. It can be done, only if we put our minds and hearts together for a common goal. The goal of this festival is to raise the awareness, and thus, the demand for hemp in all of its forms. And when demand is high, sales go...

The idea is that you contribute your scientific/cultural knowledge, business ideas, artistic talents, social aptness or other skills in creative ways, to make this festival mind boggling. We need to bring hemp, in all of its forms, to the mass public - enabling them to see, hear, touch, feel and taste hemp, convincing the senses. What we must do, on a larger scale, is what happens in the film Chocolat.

I would like all stakeholders to show your true creativity and entrepreneurial capabilities, by coming up with your own captivating way of presenting hemp. Micromanagement in a top-down fashion on my part would be the main aspect preventing this event from taking place. I will coordinate all the actors wanting to participate and make means meet ends, before the event and on location, but the rest is up to you. 

Therefore, I wish that you are willing to do what is required of you. Your duty. It needs not much money, but it does need your heart and mind to fully cooperate - with yourself and others. Let's change the world for the better, together.

Important

Please be aware of that many Swedes are very uneducated in regards to hemp. It means that many Swedes think of hemp as marijuana and Swedes are, generally, very drug conservative (mostly because of brainwashing). Therefore any association to hemp as marijuana is strictly forbidden, in any form. Yes, I know that the only difference is the THC-content, but we must compromise. We want to make people aware of hemp's wonders, without associating ourselves to the smoking culture and scare them off. Otherwise the festival might be a flop, as many people will think, "This is another one of those weed-smoking-good-for-nothing"-festivals.