The only vegetable textile fiber that can be sourced in Italy is hemp – scutching and retting are the two critical agricultural steps for a supply chain that can give material to textiles, paper, construction, energy – etc.
INTRODUCTION
Lampoon presents Prototipo Studio – Benefit Corporation : some outlines of the Articles of Incorporation
Prototipo Studio is a Benefits Corporation that operates in a responsible, ecological and socially sustainable manner to produce common utility value. The activity ensures transparency towards people, communities, territories and the environment, as well as entities, associations and other stakeholders.
Prototipo Studio processes, enhances, and markets natural raw materials for more industries, including textile, paper, construction, and pharmaceutical. Among these natural raw materials, Prototipo Studio focuses on hemp.
By supporting local manufacturing and an Italian supply chain, Prototipo is committed to contributing to innovation and progress in the urban and real estate sectors, as well as partnering with for-profit and nonprofit organizations, foundations, Benefit Corporations and certified B Corps to amplify the positive impact of their work.
Part of Prototipo Studio’s business is also the assistance, consulting and third-party development of creative and advertising assets, including e-commerce-related electronic publishing.
THE FIBER
Hemp scutching: the process of separating fibers from the woody parts of hemp
Scutching is the process that processes the stem of the hemp plant, separating the central woody pith (hemp pith) from the bark (in the context of which the fiber is identified). All the material that results from scutching, i.e., both wood and fiber, is useful biomass material for the textile and paper industries, for the production of composite and bioplastic materials, and for the construction industry.
Hemp is grown, cut and harvested in the agricultural field, and prepared in roto bale or sheaf. The scutching process is carried out in three stages: burrowing, mangling and scutching. The first stage carries out a preliminary and coarse breaking up of the woody stems. The mangling reduces the woody parts into small pieces; the scotolatura concludes by recovering the hemp, and leaving the fibers as straw, still bound to pieces of bark.
Two types of fiber are identified in the scutching process. Short fiber, which is that which is produced if the tangle of hemp stored in a roto bale enters the scutching machine; long fiber, if the hemp entering the scutching machine has been harvested and stored in sheaves, thus maintaining a similar parallel order of stems. Short fiber is mainly used for paper and composites; long fiber is for textiles. These are indicative considerations-as experience increases the variables.
Prototipo Studio interviewed some of the entrepreneurs who have developed the hemp scutching process in Italy. Among them, Antonio Trionfi Honorati has been involved in hemp cultivation in Italy and processing it for a decade. The conception of Honorati’s scutching machine stems from a mobile plant from the 1950s. The machine was designed to be able to process both short and long fibers.
Currently, Prototipo Studio collaborates with the scutching plant owned by Palma D’Oro Cooperative in Cerignola, which processes hemp for therapeutic and construction use.
Hemp retting: the Prototipo bioreactor, bacteria and the aerobic process, fibers, circular economy, certification for water in agriculture
The retting phase activates biological mechanisms capable of decomposing both pectin and glues that bind hemp fibers from the bark. The retting process that Prototipo Studio proceeds through the use of aerobic bacteria. The bacteria are able to digest the pectin that form the woody binders, respecting the cellulose membrane of the fibers. The bioreactor built by Prototipo Studio is being tested as of August 2023 and is expected to be fully operational in 2024.
The process takes place inside a bioreactor, where the fiber remains immersed in a volume of water whose parameters remain stable. The plant proceeds by maintaining different molecular and bacterial concentrations, monitoring and adjusting values with the support of applied computer technology (internet of things, in the context of web 3.0). The hemp is soaked and allowed to macerate for about four days, depending on weather conditions.
The preceding mechanical stage-the scutching stage in the paragraph above-if well executed and precisely efficient, makes it possible to reduce the need for water for retting, and shorten its time. Continuous monitoring of parameters works by safeguarding fiber quality during bacterial activities.
The water, thus controlled in the bioreactor, is transformed into a natural fertilizer rich in sugars and proteins: Prototipo Studio has certified the good quality of this slurry suitable and favorable for irrigation capable of enriching agricultural soil: the test was conducted at the SEARCH laboratory of biologist Paolo Bonatti registered with the Accredia certifying body, on July 26, 2021.
After four days in the bioreactor, the bacteria will have reduced the pectin into inert matter (sugars, oils and mineral salts) that can easily be washed out of the fiber mechanically and permanently. Among the innovations envisioned by Prototipo Studio, is the forthcoming inclusion of soldier larvae in the fiber washing step. Instead of going through an industrial washing machine and producing waste effluent, the fiber will be placed in a protected environment suitable for soldier larvae, which will be able to ingest and digest the still-anchored pectin. The soldier larvae then well-nourished will then be natural sustenance for poultry farming.
There are alternatives to bioreactor retting that seem obsolete today. One of these is field retting by taking advantage of dew: a procedure that due to climatic realities works better in northern Europe than in southern Europe, more suitable on flax stems than on hemp stems. Flax stems are similar to blades of grass while hemp stems reach a diameter in centimeters: logic dictates that ground retting by taking advantage of the inconstant and variable natural moisture can be effective on thinner matter. Field retting involves tipping the stems for even bilateral action: tipping hemp stems in the field is not an easy procedure, nor is it easily industrialized.
Other retting techniques involve the use of chemical solvents such as caustic soda, dramatically detracting from the sustainability of the process; still others, high temperature or the use of lasers with an off-topic energy expenditure.
THE TEXTILE.
The process of spinning hemp for use in the textile industry: combing, spindle, moisture control, twisting, and binning
Before spinning and following the scutching, steeping and cleaning processes, the combining stage takes place: the hemp fibers are processed to present themselves uniformly aligned and paralleled. Short or irregular fibers are removed by a fine-toothed, narrow-toothed tool. Homogeneous ribbons are obtained.
We proceed to the spindle bench where these fibers now organized and sorted into ribbons are folded and wound around spools. The silver is transformed into a wick. This leads to the spinning wheel, which is the machinery traditionally used for spinning.
Hemp yarn undergoes a twisting process to impart strength and stability. Twisting wraps multiple yarn ends. Adequate moisture must be taken into consideration-a variable that is at the heart of the Prototipo Studio project.
Few companies today invest in research to create 100% hemp yarn. Achieving it is possible through expedients on the material starting with the collection of the product and the previous steps described above. The only consistent operation at the moment in this direction is the one coordinated by Prototipo Studio, scientifically and operationally led by Marco Baroncini with Lanatura Filati, a spinning laboratory with unique experimentation in Italy today. Marco Baroncini elaborated tests and trials for more than a year, succeeding in spinning an Italian fiber, both long and short, milled in Italy – along a process without the addition of chemical additives to stabilize the raw material.
Hemp weaving, industrial and manual, hemp threads and warp: the possibilities, the troubles
Weaving hemp in Italy today is not something that can be taken for granted, despite the fact that the country has one of the world’s top textile industries in terms of quality and turnover. In addition to industrial weaving, Prototipo Studio also proceeded with manual weaving.
The difference between an industrial and manual weaving immediately finds its cusp in the warp assembly – a phase that represents the major task of an entire weaving job. An industrial warp involves weaving at least three hundred meters – while a manual warp has variable scalability.
Wanting to proceed on an industrial weave, Prototipo Studio worked with Luigi Parisotto – among the few Italian looms to offer hemp arranged in the warp. Prototipo Studio envisioned jacquard designs made by placing hemp, linen and cotton chenille threads in the weft – long and short pile. Prototipo’s fabrics are three-dimensional, corduroy, corduroy of different heights – soft almost as if silk were also in the composition – or rough like a sponge.
In hand weaving, Prototipo Studio works with Carlo Colombo on the historic looms of the La Colombina weaving mill in Veneto, near Treviso. The manual skills of weavers in a historic district allowed for powerful experimentation – succeeding in weaving Prototipo Studio’s Italian Hemp threads. Prototipo Studio’s greatest effort is here, on a fabric with an Italian hemp thread – the thread worked by Marco Baroncini on hemp fiber from fields in Puglia and Emilia Romagna, macerated in the industrial bioreactor.
BUILDING
Hemp and hemp lime: an application in the construction sector to reduce CO2 emissions
In Apulia, Italy, architects Cosimo Terlizzi and Damien Modolo have designed a building made of hemp and lime that echoes the historic lamia typology of southern Italy. Casa di Luce in Bisceglie, also in Apulia, is currently the first multi-level sustainable housing project in Europe built with a hemp lime envelope. The project involved replacing disused urban industrial sites with a new energy self-sufficient urban model.
Currently about 5,000 tons of hemp material are used annually for construction in France, the country that first began developing hemp-based insulation building materials in the early 1990s.
Hemp fiber was indicated by Roman engineers who had it added to mortar. Today hemp lime-short fibers of industrial hemp, lime and water-is used, indeed recommended, in construction. The logic is simple and intuitive: instead of having buildings built with stone and water, it is possible to design masonry works by mixing hemp short fiber with stone and water, improving the abilities of the building work: lightness, porosity, better elasticity suitable for seismic vibrations.
Today, it is estimated that the construction industry consumes at least 40 percent of global energy. A consumption that could be reduced by replacing mineral aggregates with plant aggregates. It would increase CO2 storage, or the sequestration of stable and permanent carbon in construction works. Plant fibers, and even more so hemp fibers, have air chambers in their microscopic morphology: air chambers improve the thermoregulation of a building as is best explored later in this article. «It feels like living in an almost muffled place, there is excellent acoustic insulation; it is never too hot or too cold, neither too much nor too little humidity», explains Olver Zaccanti on House of Light.
THE PAPER.
Hemp and further applications: the production of hemp paper
Paper is estimated to have been invented in China, around 105 AD. About a thousand years later, the Arabs brought paper to Italy, and in the 13th century, the first Italian center specializing in papermaking was started in Fabriano, in the Marche region of Italy. There, paper was made from the fibers of plants, especially hemp.
The advantages of hemp for papermaking should be kept in mind. Hemp fibers are composed of 70% cellulose, while wood from trees is limited to 40-50%. Cellulose represents the main element for paper production. During paper production, lignin must be dissolved: hemp fibers contain about 3% lignin, compared to 20% of tree wood, thus making the process easier and more efficient. Again: hemp paper has antibacterial and antifungal properties (better described in the next lines).
Today, the first use of hemp fiber in the paper industry wants to meet the demand for logistics packaging. In this context, hemp fiber could express its maximum potential: a paperboard made from wood fiber can be recycled an average of three times, while a paperboard made from hemp fiber can be recycled up to seven times.
SOWING, SEEDS AND FLOWERS
Hemp cultivation: soil and crop benefits, low irrigation and pathogen resistance
Hemp is suitable for organic farming, or rather – it meets by its nature many of the requirements of organic farming. The European Union claims that hemp cultivation contributes to the goals of the Green Deal. It is considered a sustainable crop both because of its rapid growth despite the low need for irrigation and because of the low need for pesticides or chemical agents for the crop’s survival.
The taproot descends vertically into the soil, reaching deep into the soil and finding water even when there is a shortage of water on the surface – hemp does not require intensive irrigation. Hemp is able to survive using 3 to 6 megaliters of irrigation water per hectare, keeping in mind that water requirements depend on the different climates in which hemp cultivation takes place (in areas that receive 635 to 660 millimeters of rainfall per year, no irrigation is needed). In locations where rainfall is insufficient, drip irrigation is an effective method of supplying crops with the necessary water without waste.
Hemp is insensitive to pests due to its inherent CBD: in addition to being resistant, hemp acts as a botanical insecticide and inhibitor of soil nematodes and other pathogenic fungi when field residues after harvesting remain on the ground. The residues clean the field before planting new crops. (To consider: fertilizers represent a high economic cost to a farmer-in the United States they come to characterize nearly one-fifth of farm cash costs)
Hemp can-or rather, should-be planted at high densities: up to one hundred and fifty plants per square meter of land. In the crop rotation, hemp is both a renewal crop and an improving crop.
Hemp: CBD and THC, what difference between the chemical compounds
In 1942, chemist Roger Adams identified trichomes in the organic matter of the flowers of the hemp plant-the trichomes produce a resin from which cannabidiol is obtained. CBD, cannabidiol, is a Phyto cannabinoid among the most widely investigated by science for its beneficial qualities on the human body. Long used in therapeutics and cosmetics, CBD’s positive effects on the human and animal body are confirmed: there is a lack of guidelines on extraction, storage, and dosage necessary for different healing effects.
THC is also extracted from hemp inflorescences and unlike CBD or cannabidiol, it has a psychotropic effect for which it is intended as a mild drug. At the biological level, the two chemical compounds react differently in contact with the human body.
The precise difference between the two substances is the cellular receptor with which they interact and the location in the body where the effect occurs. CBD attaches to the CB2 receptor, which is found in multiple areas of the body, that is, almost every cell and organ in the human body; THC reacts with the CB1 receptor, which is found only within the central nervous system.
By now CBD can be taken in a variety of forms, from cannabidiol oil, to crystals-in pure concentration, and capsules. In cosmetics, it can be present in creams and lotions. Beyond the growing market interest in CBD and studies highlighting its beneficial properties, especially in Italy, research needs to work to give precise guidelines for its use. In terms of legislation today, the production and sale of CBD products is allowed if the present concentration of THC is less than or equal to 0.6 percent (originally it was 0.2 percent).
The use of cannabinoids in industries: the antibacterial properties of hemp
The antibacterial properties of hemp extracts and its compounds have been confirmed where a concentration of CBD remains. A 2008 study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society showed that a hemp extract high in cannabinoids was effective in combating MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria, which is complex to treat because of its resistance to antibiotics.
CBD could be used for a new generation of antibiotics by adding hemp polymers to the usual compounds. CBD could improve the performance of prostheses and instruments for medical use – such as gloves, syringes, intravenous blood bags, decreasing the risk of infection. Again: in food packaging – packaging with natural antibacterial properties improves the storage variable.
The antibacterial property comes from CBD, which is detected in different concentrations in the various parts of the hemp plant. In higher concentrations on the terminal parts, CBD also persists in the fiber context. To date, at the experimental stage, we would like to assume that retting in organic water being industrialized by Prototipo Studio, succeeds in maintaining a (albeit reduced) presence of CBD in the fiber composition. If this indeed turns out to be possible, hemp fabrics would have an antibacterial ability.
Hemp seeds, morphological characteristics of seeds, seed production
Hemp seeds can be divided into three categories: Indica, Sativa and Hybrid. The one most suitable for textile use is Sativa Hemp: by biology it contains less THC than Indica. To obtain legal eligibility in Italy, it must be certified through the appropriate laboratory that the genetics of a crop produce plants and flowers with a THC concentration of less than 0.6 percent.
Hemp seeds appear different from each other biologically, with different physical characteristics: monoecious species-which have a single genus-and dioecious species, with both male and female sexes. Only the female seeds are capable of producing the flowers, or buds, the part richest in resin and thus cannabinoids.
The color and texture of a seed can suggest the degree of maturity of a healthy plant and its potential to germinate or grow. Mature hemp seeds have a tough outer shell with a color that can range from dark, almost black, to light gray.
There is an Italian variety of hemp, Carmagnola, which belongs to the strain of varieties produced in Italy along with Fibranova. It too is a dioecious species, having distinct male and female individuals, and in terms of seed and inflorescence it produces satisfactory quantities. It is robust, with high CBD and low THC content, and is adapted to colder climates. The area where it grows, Carmagnola, is a few kilometers from Turin.
The food chain: the use of hemp as a nutrient and food supplement
Hemp seeds, leaves and flowers lead to the production of baked foods, condiments, supplements and beverages. Hemp seeds are rich in amino acids, trace elements such as potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc, vitamin E (antioxidant) and polyunsaturated fats antagonistic to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 in small amounts; fiber that increases its digestibility. Due to the lack of lactose, soy and gluten, hemp is an alternative for sufferers.
These elements lead to anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, relaxing and strengthening properties of the immune and nervous systems. Energy bars and supplements based on hemp flour are used in sports. (Keeping in mind that competitive use is subject to consultation of anti-doping regulations).
Hemp turns out to be versatile at the livestock level-the SCARABEO project carried out and concluded by CREA with regional funding and experiments in Lombardy and Emilia Romagna confirmed how by adding hemp seeds to cattle breeding nutritional program, the milk produced had a lower bacterial concentration and a reduced requirement for antibiotic prophylaxis for suitability for trade.
In November 2020, the European Commission qualified pure cannabidiol (CBD) as a food as long as it meets the conditions of the EU Novel Food legislation.
SUSTAINABILITY and TRANSPARENCY
Textile hemp supply chain certifications: critical issues and opportunities related to blockchain
Globally, there are no uniform certifications for traceability and transparency of the textile hemp supply chain. The organic farming certificate may be a starting point for transparency-but operationally it seems redundant to the farmer if, as we said above, hemp cultivation already meets many of the prerequisites.
Certification bodies for the textile industry do not focus on a supply chain without any chemical, plastic and synthetic additives. Blockchain technology seems to date to be the most rigorous way forward-at the point when the technology itself achieves a sharable codification that is also understandable to the consumer. On a blockchain codification Prototipo Studio is working together with IBM, even partly funding the certification of the first suppliers and collaborators. On Prototipo Studio’s website, this information is on display, and subject to continuous and constant updating. Under study, a QR code that will be provided on each physical label: it will be able to link to the product page of each garment and each fabric-a product page that can be descriptive, narrative, speaking in every detail and code.
Market Place, private consultancies, certifying agencies, para-governmental sites – Prototipo Studio is working on every avenue with the aim of building authority that can go even beyond the questionable authority of various bodies.
Carbon offsets: carbon sequestration, rapid growth, an incentive for Italian hemp farmers, sustainable crops
From December 2021, through the ‘Communication on sustainable carbon cycles,’ the green light has been given for European agriculture to enter the carbon credit market through Carbon Farming.
The European Union, under Green Deal rules, is committed to reducing CO2 emissions to combat climate change, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. For a farmer, a ‘carbon offset’ is defined as an activity that can offset the emission of carbon dioxide. A farmer has the option of having an independent third party certify the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere that his or her farming activity is proceeding, earning Carbon Credits. Carbon Credits can then be purchased by private companies to offset the climate footprint of their business.
Hemp can grow seven to ten centimeters in a day: this rapid growth means high biomass production, that means high levels of carbon storage. In simpler words: a hemp seed is capable of growing a shrub over four meters tall in about three months. The trunk of hemp is solid wood unlike bamboo, which has a hollow trunk. Using this wood in construction therefore means stabilizing the carbon sequestered in a few months for decades if not centuries. This is the reason by which we tend to back up the popular phrase that repeats how one hectare of hemp can absorb more CO2 than one hectare of forest.
It has been shown that between 2 and 5 percent of global emissions are caused by the fashion system. The textile industry’s goal is to cut down about 45% of these by 2030. This is potentially achievable through sustainable crops and practices in the production and processing of natural textiles.
In addition to proceeding a textile industry with sustainable setups among which the main ones we are exposing in this text, hemp also represents the plant crop with the highest carbon sequestration capacity-at the time every part of it can enter pragmatic and innovative use.
Hemp for Phyto depuration: an ecological soil remediation practice
The naturally occurring heavy metals most prevalent in nature are arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury-the concentration of these increases due to the even daily use of personal hygiene and pharmaceutical products that humans indulge in and need.
Hemp is able to absorb contaminants through the process of phytoextraction by means of the roots, which, entering vertically into the soil and reaching depths sufficient for a complete soil survey, absorb the substances, Phyto degrade them, and transport them through the hemp stem to the leaves and flowers.
Phyto depuration is a process of remediation of contaminated soils through the use of plants that can absorb contaminants. The vertical taproots of hemp roots range in length from forty-five to ninety centimeters: they also reach contaminants in the deepest layers.
Hemp was planted at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to extract radioactive elements such as chromium, lead, copper and nickel from the soil. In Puglia, hemp was planted in the context of the Ilva steel plant. Coldiretti, an association representing Italian agriculture, is taking action by planting monocultures of hemp for its Phyto depurative ability. The crop is also expected to contribute to the region’s economic development.
The benefits of hemp: thermoregulation
Global warming is expanding the need to develop materials that can contain temperature in environments and limit temperature changes. The thermoregulatory properties of hemp are applicable in both the textile and construction industries.
For textiles, the hollow structure of hemp fibers allows for the presence of an air volume, or rather, an air chamber-and we know how air has a low heat transfer index. The micro air chambers that exist in the fiber morphology slow the propagation of heat energy. When structured into a yarn, hemp fiber transfers its qualities to fabrics, generating lightweight, heat-regulating clothing-both against heat and cold.
