With the UK on strict targets for carbon production by 2030, could hemp provide a solution for both the economy and our climate change?
When it comes to sustainability, there is a lot the industry does right but there are still a lot of ways it could be improved. Cannabis Wealth speaks to Danny Purton, founder of Herbotany Health about how they have made a success of being environmentally friendly from seed to store.
Danny and Paul Bachelor founded the company in 2019. Herbotany Health is a sustainable hemp company based in the UK, with partnerships in the US. The two founders decided to enter the industry after meeting a mutual friend who used CBD.
“We had a mutual friend who had a military background and was struggling with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). He started using CBD because all of his medications weren’t working for him. In his words, it changed his life,” Danny said.
The co-founders decided they needed to get involved with CBD. Danny had a family member who was a farmer and Paul had ties to America which provided the perfect start to their business.
Hemp farming
Danny said: “My brother in law is a fourth-generation farmer who has just taken over the farm. He wanted to look at the next generation of farming and one of the things he was interested in was industrial hemp.
We set up Herbotany Health then applied for and obtained our home office license for growing industrial hemp. We’ve got 500 acres that we wanted to use as part of the regeneration of farm and also to make products with it.”
Danny and Paul decided to start retailing CBD but to do that, they needed to import it. Their US contacts helped them to establish a supply chain that was both functional and sustainable.
“Our supply chain in the US managed to repurpose a limestone cave. In effect, it was a limestone mine that they had managed to purchase and close off the front. They are growing our hemp clones in there because, in terms of temperature and humidity, it can be controlled very closely and is one of the best environments for hemp to grow.”
He added: “It’s great in terms of sustainability in that we repurposed something that was abandoned.”
Hemp is a very sustainable and carbon-neutral plant. The plants can actually absorb a huge amount of carbon while regenerating the soil. Hemp has been planted in some of the most polluted areas of the world including Chernobyl to help the soil gain nutrients.
Danny explained: “Hemp is a very sustainable and ecologically friendly plant. You cannot just leave the plant on its own as you have to do work to it in the process of farming to make it sustainable. As part of the organic process, we don’t use synthetic fertilisers or pesticides as the climate impact is incredibly bad. Hemp is a tough plant so can look after itself but with the help of organic tillage, it will grow great.”
Hemp in Kentucky
The quality of the water in Kentucky was another huge draw when it came to settling up the farm. Danny highlighted that bourbon whiskey is made in Kentucky due to the purity of the water. The limestone creates water for the crops and also acts as a filter to eliminate elements such as iron.
He said: “The quality water is used for our organic hemp. It’s the start of the process as it regenerates the soil because it has long roots that can draw up any contaminants. If you have hemp on a particular field you can move that on and it’s much better to grow follow on crops of wheat or barley because the soil has been regenerated and the nutrients moved around.
Everyone says plant a tree at the moment because they take CO2 out of the atmosphere but not many people know hemp is actually twice as effective at sequestration of CO2. It’s a bit frustrating that in this country, more is not being made of this especially after COP26 and the UK governments commitment.”
Every part of Herbotany Health has been designed to be as sustainable as possible. This includes packaging which is an area where despite the industry being dependent on nature, can sometimes revolve around plastic.
Danny said: “One of our passions is the packaging. We use 80 per cent recycled pulp in our cardboard boxes and that’s the maximum you can have while still keeping the structure. They are 100 per cent recyclable and compostable. We also don’t use plastic for the bottles as all our tinctures are glass. One challenge for us at the moment is the rubber top of the tincture. This is one of our targets to switch to using ocean plastics or non-single use in our tinctures.”
He explained that the process is so much more than just organic hemp farming and recyclable packaging.
“We have organic hemp, we have the production facility which is as close to the farm as possible. Our facility uses geothermal energy so that we minimise our carbon footprint in terms of the manufacturing process. When people think about sustainability, it’s usually just about the carbon footprint but there are other things to consider like using the local workplace in improvised areas which we do as well.
Hemp for the future
One of our products uses a patented system that works by increasing bioavailability. It’s twice as effective which means that you have to use less of the product for the same effect. In terms of sustainability, these are all things we are thinking of throughout our supply chain.”
As well as all of this, the company also gives to charities such as ‘hemp for the future’ which helps to improve the education and knowledge around the plant. In 2020, they gave more than 3000 units of hemp-derived wellness and hygiene products to healthcare workers in America.
Danny believes that changing regulation around hemp farming in the UK is an easy win for the government. Especially considering the government commitment to reducing carbon by 2030.
“The government rules need to change. Hemp as a sustainable plant is an easy win in terms of the environment. It will add value to the economy. It can create jobs, tax returns that could be used. That tax could be used to fight climate change.”