Cynosura Consulting Partners with Industry Leaders to Establish a Sustainable Hemp Fiber Supply Chain in the US

Below: Hemp Field

Above: Hemp Fiber

June 10, 2019, Mt Airy, NC – At the upcoming 2019 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, Dave Petri, founder of Cynosura Consulting, will moderate a panel discussion on establishing a sustainable hemp fiber supply chain in the US. The panel is part of the Outdoor University program hosted by the Outdoor Industry Association and Outdoor Retailer. It will take place on Tuesday, June 18, 2019, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. MDT at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center. 

In 2014, changes in US laws opened the door for research and development of industrial hemp, and within a few years, many states had launched pilot programs. Those were followed by the 2018 Farm Bill which relabeled hemp an agricultural product and not a controlled substance. The new label was all industry leaders needed to start building a domestic supply chain for the natural fiber.

 The upcoming panel discussion includes Guy Carpenter, President of Bear Fiber, Inc.; Todd Copeland, Supply Chain Environmental Responsibility Manager at Patagonia; Eric Henry, President of TS Designs; Bert James, NC Hemp Farmer; and Tom McCall, Director of Innovation at CAP Yarns. The discussion will highlight the current status of hemp fiber in the US, its future outlook, and a call for collaboration in building a domestic supply chain.

Moderating this discussion at the well-known OIA platform makes sense because, as Petri explains, “The outdoor industry has always been a leader in product innovation—especially when it comes to sustainable solutions. Industrial hemp provides the industry an opportunity to usher in a new domestic supply chain that’ll both provide more environmentally responsible products and create American jobs.”

 Guy Carpenter agrees: “Hemp is natural for the outdoor industry. Hemp blended with other sustainable fibers makes superior fabrics that are soft, comfortable, strong, more abrasion resistant and naturally protective. Farm> Fiber> Fabric> Fashion—Hemp Makes It Better.”         

 For more information, contact Dave Petri: dave@cynosurallc.com