For millenia, bast fibres like hemp and flax have been used for making fabric and personal items. Today, single-use wipes and hygiene products have become an important part of our health and wellbeing. No longer perceived as luxury or convenience items, these products are now an essential part of our everyday lives.
Many of these items are made from plastics and cannot be recycled, therefore contributing to the massive problem of plastic waste that is damaging our environment.
When seeking alternatives to plastic fibres, one option is to convert wood into man-made cellulosic fibres like viscose or rayon. However, this requires a
chemically-intensive conversion process that can produce harmful waste.
Increasing our reliance on wood fibre will further stress our limited supply of sustainably managed forests, leading to forest degradation and deforestation. Using woodbased fibres simply replaces one set of problems with another.
Since bast fibres come from the stems of annually renewable crops that work in seamless rotation with existing crops, they require no new farmland for cultivation. Because they are composed of plant matter, they break down naturally, and do not end up as microplastics in soils or water systems.
Trees waiting to be pulped for viscose. A waterway contaminated by plastic waste. A field of hemp, ready for harvest.Using advanced fibre processing technology, Bast Fibre Tech has developed sero™, a superior natural product for replacing plastics. BFT transforms raw bast fibres from hemp plants for use in wipes, hygiene products and more.
increase in the number of hectares of hemp grown in the EU from 2015-2019
Bast fibres like hemp are a crucial part of the transition away from plastic, and BFT is poised to lead the way in enabling truly sustainable single-use products. days is the length of a growing cycle fibre
Our “grow local, process local, sell local” sourcing and manufacturing approach allows us to avoid unnecessary shipping, thereby reducing our carbon footprint and streamlining our supply chain.
BFT extracts the fibres found under the bark of bast plants. Our manufacturing process cleans, individualizes, and softens each fibre while maintaining its integral structure. Our fibre is not regenerated cellulosic fibre, and is 100% compostable.
BFT’s sero™ hemp is an ideal choice for achieving sustainability goals without sacrificing the quality and performance that consumers expect from their single-use products.
Actual Plant Fibre
Hemp seed.
Fibre hemp growing in a field.
Hemp fibre separated from the plant stem.
Bast plants like hemp are an ideal source of raw material for wipes and other single-use products. Each plant in the dense canopy stands around two meters tall, and the entire plant is commercially useful, from the roots up the stems to the seeds and the flowers. A deep root system helps prevent erosion and adds organic matter to the soil, improving soil health.
According to the European Commission1 hemp offers broad opportunities for industrial sectors and consumers, and its cultivation contributes to the European Green Deal objectives:
• Hemp is one of the worlds best CO2 to biomass converters. Annually, it sequesters 9 to 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare, more than a young forest. But while a forest needs 10 to 20 years or more before harvest, hemp needs only 90 to 100 days.
• Hemp helps to break the cycle of diseases when used in crop rotation, and its heavy shade stifles the growth of weeds thus preventing the need for excessive use of pesticides.
• The dense leaves of hemp become a natural soil cover, reducing water loss and protecting against soil erosion. Hemp covers the ground just three weeks after germination.
• Hemp produces large amounts of pollen making it beneficial to pollinator insects. It also provides shelter for birds, and provides seeds that are food for animals.
1. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productionsand-plant-based-products/hemp_en
Harvesting a hemp crop.
sero™ is BFT’s naturally engineered hemp fibre, developed to meet the exacting standards required for use in manufacturing fabrics to make wipes, hygiene products, and more.
We know that quality fibre starts in the field. That’s why we work with farmers and supply chain partners that are focused on fibre quality and long-term sustainability.
Fibre is processed in our European and North American facilities, according to our proprietary system, ensuring thorough quality control and environmental responsibility.
Premium Hemp Fibre
We are working with our supply chain partners to create a truly natural alternative to synthetic fibres. Our contribution to the circular economy is our “2R” mission to Replace plastic and Repair the planet. Products made from sero™ can replenish soils, prevent deforestation, sequester carbon, and eliminate end-of-life microplastic contaminants. We are proud to provide viable natural fibre options to accelerate our customers’ corporate sustainability initiatives.
