Miracle Fibers

The issue of growing hemp in the United States is constantly being argued over in politics and farming communities. The DEA law enforcement believes that hemp and marijuana are too alike and that from a helicopter, the two can not be differentiated. Although hemp and marijuana are cousins, hemp lacks the abundance amount of THC, the drug that gets people high, that marijuana contains and is grown for illegally. In the movie Hempsters, a law enforcing agent claims that growing the hemp plant will only send a bad message to children, and people will not be able to tell the difference when the plant is being grown. A counter argument that was made by a politician said," if a DEA agent can not tell the difference between the two plants, then he should not be in law enforcement." According the the reading, Hemp: The Historic Fiber Remains Controversial, hemp in textiles has been used since the 28th century B.C. and is still used a lot today in home furnishings and apparel. The process of growing the plant is much different than growing it's cousin, who requires an abundant amount of light and space to grow. Hemp can be grown extremely close together with less sunlight. Hemp is naturally resistant to mold, pests, and bacteria, so the pesticides and other harmful chemicals are not needed for growing. The entire plant can be used to make cloth, paper, building materials, cosmetics, and even food.

Hemp has been named the most eco friendly fiber and is known to be healthy to humans, so the question of why the fiber is illegal is what I am still trying to figure out. Why is it illegal to grow the fiber in the United States, which would generate profit, when we import the fiber from other countries? I believe the people who are against the fiber being grown in the United States are lacking information on why the fiber is so beneficiary and not hazardous. This plant, when legalized, will make an improvement in farming and trade which will keep outsourcing this fiber to a minimum.

Bamboo fiber has been mislabeled on garments and other products, when really the fiber is nothing but rayon. This often misleads people into believing that what they are buying is eco friendly and healthy. According to Are You Being Bamboozled?, mislabeling these products is illegal under the FTC regulations, but some companies find a way to continuously trick consumers. Rayon, made from bamboo, is not eco friendly because of all the toxic chemicals used in the process of making the fiber. The fiber is not bio degradable because they do not break down in a short amount of time after be disposed of.

GM Cotton Against Organic, demonstrates how many companies are misleading consumers into thinking the are being eco friendly and organic. "January 2010, large amounts of genetically modified (GM) cotton from India had been put on the German market as organic cotton. The report also questioned the authenticity of the organic certifiers Ecocert and the Dutch Control Union. According to the article, they are suspected of having certified GM cotton as organic.". This was a large scale of fraud that potentially scared away consumers from buying the products of this producer. "Today what are generally referred to as Third Party Certification systems have become the dominant means of organic guarantee for world trade. While Third Party Certification is an essential component to world trade, there are downsides to the system. The inherent expense and paperwork required in a multilevel system discourages most small organic producers from being certified at all. This limits local and domestic trade as well as access to organic products."

Many controversies still exist with all three of these fibers and may continually cause concerns in the near future. Hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton are miracle fibers when they are grown, treated, manufactured and labeled correctly to the public.