Remarkable stuff hemp. The mind boggles at the number of uses to which it can be put and it may hold the key to a greener future. Belonging to the same family as Cannabis (although, contrary to popular belief, you cannot make drugs from it) it is fast becoming the carbon neutral wonder material of the future.  Boots, shoes, trousers, and food-is there anything that hemp can't be used for?

Take the new Lotus Eco Elise for which locally sourced hemp was used to make the body panels, the rear spoiler and seats.  In addition, it absorbs CO2, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the car.

Hempcore run the worlds largest hemp processing factory in Suffolk. They clean and refine it so it can be used to make all manner of things, including insulation materials, and even in buildings. For hemp mixed with lime can be used to make walls with high thermal properties. It's simple to use and remarkably you could build a house with it in a mere three days. The resulting building will need virtually no heating or cooling. Adnams Brewery is a case in point. Their distribution centre is build from hemp building blocks, and it, too, needs no heating and maintains a mean temperature of 15 C. The 'hempcrete' from which it is made is very important. Not only does it have great thermal properties, it also locks away some 150 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Had it been built with concrete, it would have emitted some 600 tonnes into the atmosphere. By using hemp they can lock carbon away.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!