Eco-Living: Spliff competition

Organic cotton is so last year. The greenest material to be seen wearing these days is hemp

HEMP is not marijuana." Like anyone who works from home, I spend endless hours surfing the internet when I should be earning my keep. But my latest bout of online window shopping led me straight back to the subject of eco living.

It started with that statement about hemp, blazing out at SimpleShoes .com (a company that makes quirky shoes from jute, cork, bamboo, recycled car tyres and hemp).

Next I went to Howies.co.uk to ogle its spring clothing collection, only to be met with more hemp facts: "Compared to cotton (even organic cotton), cultivating and processing hemp requires a lot less water. For example, a T-shirt made from 55% hemp and 45% cotton could save up to 2,800 litres of water. That's enough to give one person clean drinking water for two years."

Smug at having been purchasing organic cotton clothing over the last year or two, I realised with horror that I'd not been doing as much good as I'd thought. Hemp is clearly the next big thing. Actually, it's a pretty ancient thing. But first, the difference between the hemp that's turning up in eco clothing stores and the hemp that politicians don't inhale: both belong to the plant species Cannabis sativa, but industrial hemp contains less than 1% THC (the stuff the stoners like), as compared to the 5% to 20% in marijuana.

According to the North American Industrial Hemp Council, "If one tried to ingest enough industrial hemp to get 'a buzz', it would be the equivalent of taking two to three doses of a high-fibre laxative." Now there's a way to get the kids off drugs.

Hemp's first recorded use dates back to the Egyptians in the 16th century BC, who used the plant fibre for food, medicine and textiles. When the British navy was much in need of rope, Elizabeth I decreed farmers must grow hemp to make it. The American Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, Rembrandt and Van Gogh painted on hemp canvas, using oil paints made from hemp seeds, and in 1941 Henry Ford produced a car made from 70% hemp plastic and designed to run on hemp fuel. This car was never mass produced thanks to a US ban on growing hemp, and in the UK the ban imposed in 1971 under the Misuse of Drugs Act wasn't repealed until 1993.

So why is hemp being hailed as the eco crop of the future? Well, it grows fast (reaches maturity in 100 days), doesn't require much water and grows without the need for pesticides or herbicides. It can be used in the construction industry as an alternative to concrete, and the paper it produces outlasts wood pulp paper and can be recycled more times. Hemp can produce biodegradable plastics and sulphur-free biomass fuel. As a food it's rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils, and as for hemp clothing, I quote Giorgio Armani: "Hemp produces a strong, clean yarn, with a structure that makes the cloth cool in summer and warm and comfortable in winter."

No wonder demand for hemp products has been growing at over 100% year on year since 1990.

The future for hemp looks bright – in 2006 more than 3,500 acres of the crop were harvested in the UK. Last year it was exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show – a sure sign that it's moving into the mainstream. Yet in Liechtenstein, farmers have been banned from feeding their cows industrial hemp. The authorities didn't want any THC getting into the milk supply, and now some farmers lament that milk yields are down and their cows are no longer quite so relaxed. So when you purchase your new hemp T-shirt, spare a thought for those cows whose experience of hemp is now just a happy memory.

Give the bunny a break

REMEMBER the joy of getting a huge Easter egg – only to discover half a dozen sweets, a chocolate shell and a lot of fresh air inside the box? Well, the excess packaging isn't the only unnecessary by-product of this holiday. Here are some ways to try and make a difference this Easter.

Cadbury has tackled the problem of the most heavily packaged of festive treats. www.sustainableisgood.com/blog highlights the company's commitment to going green: "Cadbury is launching Treasure Eggs. They feature significantly less packaging and will be sold wrapped only in foil rather than in a box." A blogger at www.crazy-mumma.blogspot.com decides to use an even greener method of Easter entertainment: "I wondered if it was possible to make non-chocolate 'eggs' that we can reuse each year

Olivia at www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-zaleski draws attention to other unnecessary Easter purchases: "According to the House Rabbit Society, a bunny welfare organisation, each spring, unwanted 'former Easter rabbits' fill local rescues and, worse, dumpsters. Unless you're in it for the long haul, please don't put a live bunny in your Easter basket!"

BE GREENER

Help fuel the hemp revolution. Hemp for Victory by Kenyon Gibson (£17.99, Whitaker) contains all the information you need to spread the word.

Buy something made from hemp, be it luggage, a ball of twine, a pair of trainers or even a didgeridoo. Try www.sativabags.com or www.thehempshop.co.uk for inspiration.

HEALTHY PLANET

CHILDREN need to get the eco-message if we're going to save the planet. Inspire your young ones with these wooden animals in the shape of lions, elephants and camels, made from organic maple wood and textiles. For each one sold a donation is made to wildlife charities, so you also do your bit to preserve wild animals for future generations. (£4.99 each; see www.anamalz.co.uk for stockists)