Hemptown to Collaborate with National Research Council of Canada

Clothing Producer Enters Biotech Industry Agreement to Develop Enzyme Process to Manufacture Hemp Fabric

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Hemptown Clothing, Inc. (OTCBB:HPTWF), a leading provider of environmentally responsible clothing, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) on the development of a patentable enzyme technology process that may see hemp fibers replace cotton worldwide.

By collaborating in this manner, Hemptown also expands its development and expertise into the biotechnology industry.

The collaboration between Hemptown and NRC is intended to produce hemp clothing fabric that would match cotton in price, while eliminating the tons of pesticides and enormous water consumption required by cotton. Furthermore, industrial hemp is 5 times as efficient as the same acreage of forestry in the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into plant materials for industrial application, thus allowing the latter to remain as the reservoir of the greenhouse gases.

In addition to the textile sector, the availability of clean hemp fibers at reasonable cost will enable widespread application in industry to provide rigidity for plastics as vehicle interior trim with reduced weight and ease of recycling, and in buildings as a natural insulator, as compared to the traditional fiberglass.

An efficient enzyme system will give a competitive advantage to Hemptown or to any third party companies to whom it licenses the process. This ground-breaking fiber technology is expected to be delivered into the market within the next 3 years.

Hemptown was identified as an ideal partner for NRC, said Scott Ferguson, business development officer for the NRC Institute for Biological Sciences. Their understanding of the hemp fiber industry, coupled with their stability and strong corporate profile, made them an excellent candidate with which to help develop this new generation biotechnology. We are excited about the prospects for this collaboration, which could ultimately revolutionize the apparel industry as well as many other industrial applications.

If we are able to provide our environmentally friendly hemp fiber activewear at a price that is equal or better than that of current cotton products, there is no reason for consumers to not make the smart choice, commented Hemptown Clothing president, Jason Finnis. ³We are enthused about the initial developments, and intend to use this technology to launch a proper hemp textile industry in Canada, as well as all other industrial hemp growing nations around the world. The potential market for the use and licensing of this hemp production technology worldwide may be in the billions of dollars.

About NRC

Recognized globally for research and innovation, NRC is a leader in the development of an innovative, knowledge-based economy for Canada through science and technology. The NRC Institute for Biological Sciences has more than 40 years of experience in enzyme research. A successful example of collaboration with Canadian industry is the NRC modified xylanase for pulp bleaching. Iogen Corporation commercially launched the first product in 1997. This enzyme bleaches more than 4.5 million tons of pulp annually, with annual
sales reaching million of dollars.

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© 2004, Hemptown Clothing, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Vgl. Meldung vom 2004-05-19.)

Source

Global Hemp-News vom 2004-05-18.

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