Roll and dress greener with hemp

Drivers ignore it: the dashboards and the interior of the doors of the Peugeot 308, 508 and Megane models at Renault are partly made of hemp fibers.

From Alfa Romeo to Jaguar, many manufacturers are trying to green their range.

Invisible and odorless, the plant is incorporated into polypropylene to form less polluting and lighter alloys.

Since 2014, the French manufacturer APM (Automotive Performance Materials), based near Dijon, has equipped 7 million cars and plans 13 million more by 2027. By that date, the equivalent of 100,000 tonnes of CO2 will have been avoided.

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A modest start, compared to the 77 million cars sold worldwide last year.

But why deprive yourself of it?

Hemp-based biomaterials decrease dependence on petroleum.

They are easily recyclable: once crushed, bio-based plastics are melted down to make other automotive parts.

APM ensures these biocomposites can be recycled up to seven times without losing their specificities.

The circle is complete, according to the principle of the circular economy.

A battle won in the fight against plastic waste which saturates the environment.

For their part, textile manufacturers are looking for alternatives to cotton, the carbon footprint of which has been denounced.

Hungry for water and pesticides, this plant travels thousands of kilometers from fields and factories located in India or China.

Quite the opposite of hemp, frugal, locally grown and whose fibers were woven for centuries in France to make sails, boat ropes as well as sheets and clothing.

Socks at Decathlon

From spinning to clothing, a tricolor industry explores new techniques.

This is evidenced by the Hemp Act company in the Lot, which this year delivered 25 tonnes of fibers to various weavers (Safilin, Peignage Dumortier, etc.).

Near Troyes, the Chanvrière de l'Aube works on blends of hemp, cotton and polyester, a less virtuous formula but more affordable.

The first sports socks are on sale in some Decathlon.

For the home, Ikea markets a range of storage in hemp fabric at moderate prices.

More upscale, the Basque brand Couleur Chanvre signs bed sets, scarves, tablecloths, curtains and cushions.

One thing leading to another, an ancestral tradition is reborn from its ashes.

Le Figaro

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