WWE Features New Hemp-Made Championship Belt
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan has been leading an eco-friendly crusade in and out of the ring for years. A highly-publicized vegan and environmentalist, even endorsing Green Party nominee Jill Stein in the 2016 United States presidential election, Bryan has recently blended his personal views with his pro wrestling character. He took another step on Tuesday by unveiling a new championship belt made of hemp.
Tossing the old leather belt in the trash, Bryan claimed that this “new symbol of excellence” is made from 100% sustainable and organic hemp. It’s the first of its kind in the history of pro wrestling, and fans flooded social media with mixed reviews.
The new belt was made possible after
Congress voted to legalize hemp and President Donald Trump signed the bill into law in December. The legislation puts the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state agencies in charge of hemp regulations, granted farmers access to banking, water rights and crop insurance. As a result of the legislation, the U.S. cannabis industry could grow to $20 billion by 2022, up from $800 million this year,
Fortune reported.
Several industry suppliers have been excited about the potential opportunities that the legalization of hemp can provide for apparel. “It is like an industrial revolution,” said Glen Brumer, sales director at New York-based Royal Apparel (asi/83731). The company has been supplying viscose hemp T-shirts and V-necks over the last few years. “Our product has introduced us to many areas of the hemp industry, from advocacy groups to various companies that support it. From our experience, we have seen the positive impact it has on business.”
Legislation dating back to 1937 made the growing of industrial hemp (because of its ties to cannabis) illegal, forcing Americans to import the crop from other countries as long as it contains scant levels of THC – the psychoactive constituent in cannabis. But a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill opened the door for growing hemp in certain states.
Nebraska-based Bastcore was the first to capitalize on the provision,
inking a contract with Los Angeles-based Recreator to supply American-grown hemp fiber for apparel. John Lupien, CEO of Bastcore, says that hemp becoming legal simplifies the production process, loosening restrictions such as which states to retrieve the crop from and how to transport it. “It’s a big deal for us,” Lupien says. “This alleviates some of the concerns institutional investors might have in terms of what’s the likelihood of hemp being legal. After all, it takes capital to get this scaled up if you want to see hemp in more T-shirts.”