Julia Bialecka — Replacing Styrofoam with Hemp and Mycelium

Encore Presentation of Michael Klepacz's First Interview on Hemp Show, March 2024

This is a special encore edition of an interview we published on YouTube two years ago. This is my conversation with Michael Klepacz, an Ohio native and Air Force veteran who moved to Poland in 2012 and founded Natural Materials Unlimited, a company that makes textiles and products from hemp, linen and other bast fibers. In this bonus episode, he talks about how the business grew from hemp wick to guitar straps, pet accessories and custom fiber products for clients around the world. The conversation digs into long fiber versus short fiber hemp: why long fiber produces stronger, higher-quality textiles, why Europe's processing equipment wasn't built for it, and why China's demand for European long fiber has scrambled the supply chain. Klepacz also traces hemp's textile history (including its role in old ship sails and painters' canvases), and shares his frustrations with U.S. and Polish hemp policy, ignorant regulators and platforms like Google and Facebook that still block hemp marketing. This episode is being republished alongside a new interview [https://lancasterfarming.com/tncms/asset/editorial/2c227b3a-69a5-49ae-8139-bef1d46b03d6] host Eric Hurlock recorded with Klepacz in Poland, revisiting the conversation as the two catch up in person. Learn More Natural Material Unlimited naturalmaterials.eu [https://naturalmaterials.eu/] Sponsors HEMI (Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative) hempinitiatives.org/ [https://hempinitiatives.org/] The Goodness of HEMP thegoodnessofhemp.org/ [https://thegoodnessofhemp.org/]

Michael Klepacz: An American in Warsaw

This week on the Hemp Show, we continue our hemp adventure in Poland [https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/hemp-in-poland-a-trip-into-europes-industrial-hemp-industry/collection_ffb6bd03-2e6c-4c8b-93b9-7a4b129fc11b.html], catching up with American expat Michael Klepacz, owner of Natural Materials Unlimited. Klepacz sits near the end of the hemp supply chain — he doesn't grow or process raw fiber himself. Instead, he sources hemp and other natural fibers from regional mills and turns them into finished goods, from hemp wick to dog leashes, as a contract manufacturer for brands worldwide. Klepacz gives us a walking tour of his factory — beeswax, waxing lines and a dynamometer that tests twine strength — and makes the case for hemp as Europe's best fiber. We're also re-releasing his first appearance on the show, a 2024 conversation that never made it to the podcast feed, so you can get the full picture of an American entrepreneur building a hemp business from scratch in Poland. Learn More Natural Materials Unlimited https://naturalmaterials.eu [https://naturalmaterials.eu] RAW Hemp Wick (10ft) https://rawthentic.com/prawducts/smoking-gear/lighters-matches-wicks/raw-hemp-wick-10ft/ [https://rawthentic.com/prawducts/smoking-gear/lighters-matches-wicks/raw-hemp-wick-10ft/] Libeco Belgian Linen https://www.libeco.com [https://www.libeco.com] EIHA (European Industrial Hemp Association) https://eiha.org [https://eiha.org] Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI — The Goodness of Hemp https://goodnessofhemp.org [https://goodnessofhemp.org] Bish Enterprises — FiberCut https://bishenterprise.com/fibercut [https://bishenterprise.com/fibercut] 1937 International https://1937international.com [https://1937international.com] Condor Seed https://condorseed.com [https://condorseed.com] IND Hemp https://indhemp.com [https://indhemp.com]

Beau Whitney — Making the Economic Case for Hemp, One Spoon at a Time

This is part seven of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. Beau Whitney is the founder of Whitney Economics, based in Portland, Oregon. He has tracked the economics of hemp and cannabis since 2014, and his data is a fixture at industry events around the world. But he found that the numbers alone didn't always land with audiences. "When I would start talking about hemp as an automobile part or as a substitute for lithium EV batteries, I would lose the crowd," he said. So Whitney had a hemp-based spoon made and started handing it to skeptics during talks to show that hemp isn't a drug but a real material. That grew into a second venture, the Everyday Hemp Company, which now makes hemp cutlery, straws, plant tags and a plant-based pallet wrap he calls "planet wrap." Between the data and the products, Whitney's message is the same on both sides: hemp is a real economy, not a novelty. Learn More Whitney Economics whitneyeconomics.com [https://whitneyeconomics.com] Everyday Hemp Company everydayhempcompany.com [https://everydayhempcompany.com] Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl [https://iwnirz.pl] European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org [https://eiha.org/] Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com [https://condorseed.com] HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org [https://thegoodnessofhemp.org] Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut [https://bishenterprise.com/fibercut] 1937 International 1937international.com [https://1937international.com]

Bob Hoban — The "Hemp Cliff" and What Comes Next

This is part ten of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. Bob Hoban is an attorney and consultant in the international cannabis and hemp space, based in Denver, Colorado. He has advised governments, companies and trade organizations across multiple continents, and in this Hemp in Poland series finale, he turns his attention to a deadline looming over the U.S. industry. "So we've got what I've kind of come to refer to as the hemp cliff happening in November of 2026," he said. Hoban explains that a wide range of products — from intoxicating cannabinoids to CBD — could become federally illegal at that point, along with a DEA opinion that effectively classified cannabis seeds as hemp. He traces it to a political reaction from Senator McConnell's office, but doesn't expect the cliff to actually arrive, pointing to heavy lobbying, an invested alcohol and distribution sector, and a lawsuit with a legal team ready to seek an injunction. Even if it does take effect, he argues, state programs will keep operating and the industry will absorb the hit. "I think that it will impact the economics of the industry, but it doesn't kill the industry," Hoban said. Learn More Hoban Law Group hobanlaw.com [https://hobanlaw.com] Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl [https://iwnirz.pl] European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org [https://eiha.org/] EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org [https://eiha-conference.org/] Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com [https://condorseed.com] HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org [https://thegoodnessofhemp.org] Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut [https://bishenterprise.com/fibercut] 1937 International 1937international.com [https://1937international.com]

Lorenza Romanese — Hemp as a Building Block of the Bioplastics Economy

This is part nine of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. View the whole series here [https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/hemp-in-poland-a-trip-into-europes-industrial-hemp-industry/collection_ffb6bd03-2e6c-4c8b-93b9-7a4b129fc11b.html]. Lorenza Romanese is Secretary General of European Bioplastics, the Brussels-based trade association representing bio-based and biodegradable plastics across Europe. She came up through the European hemp industry, and while her day job is now bioplastics, she says her heart stays with hemp — which she argues is a building block of the European bioeconomy, not a niche crop. Her core message is that the technology already exists; what's missing is scale, and only regulation can force it. "We are not talking about innovation anymore. We have the technology, we have the ideas, we know how. We need to scale up. This is the game," she said. The barrier is cost. Bioplastics still make up just 0.5% of all plastic on the planet, and while consumers say they want to help the environment, they hesitate at the price. Romanese points to 2026 as a pivotal year, with several EU regulations on the table — including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — that could set binding targets and finally push bioplastics to scale. Learn More European Bioplastics european-bioplastics.org [https://european-bioplastics.org] Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl [https://iwnirz.pl] European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org [https://eiha.org/] EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org [https://eiha-conference.org/] Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com [https://condorseed.com] HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org [https://thegoodnessofhemp.org] Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut [https://bishenterprise.com/fibercut] 1937 International 1937international.com [https://1937international.com]