December/January Newsletter 2017

Lawn mowers/fertilizers surveying their domain.

Happy New Year Vital Ones!!!

Thank you for supporting Vital Hemp last year. We look forward to the year ahead with strong feelings of gratitude for all that is good in life. With an enduring faith in the resilience of life's ecosystems, and our capacity to preserve and support them, I encourage us to do so together.

In 2016, we shared joys and achievements, both simple and profound. Eden made it across the monkey bars this year.  Scientists discovered gravitational waves.  We also shared tragedies, both personal and global. 

I started Vital Hemp on Earth Day, 2003, from an environmental impulse, in response to the very real threat posed by global warming.  My father was a scientist whose team spearheaded night vision for the admirals and generals of the Cold War. I grew up in a household that understood that almost every aspect of our lives was touched by science--from our toilets to our telephones. So when I learned that 98% of all climate scientists (not the ones paid by the oil companies...and now we know, even them!) agreed that human activity was contributing to global warming with predictably devastating effects, it woke me up. I could no longer stand in the lecture hall of the Titanic, speaking about the greatness of Francios Truffaut as we headed toward the proverbial iceberg.  Time to change course, or get off that ship and onto a new one.

The new ship is not some other fantastical planet or ultimately dreadful life in space, but another way of interacting with this unique one for which we now act as stewards--of life, at least; the planet will survive us all.  Despite the election of a man who called global warming a Chinese conspiracy, there are positive signs that the rest of the world is waking up to ways of living that don't hasten, and may eventually reverse the currently calamitous course of the history of life on Earth. Several European countries are now on track to receive the majority of their energy from renewable resources, such as the sun and wind, by 2020. 

While we want to replace dirty industries such as coal, oil, fracked natural gas and nuclear energy that destroy entire ecosystems (and many lives) with their all-too-frequent disasters, we have in our hands one ancient solution to a greener future: hemp. On the domestic front, it seems we're finally changing government's mind about the utility of industrial hemp. Hemp is legal to grow in thirty-two states, and twelve are currently growing it. That's good news, because hemp cools the globe. Remember: for every ton we harvest, it sequesters 1.62 tons of CO2.  

We are living in extraordinary times, both heartbreaking and heartwarming, stunning in terms of what we know, understand and can experience--either tangibly or virtually. We see our role as making clothing from a plant that has been used for making clothing for thousands of years. We believe that our clothing doesn't have to pollute the planet, but can be part of a regenerative cycle that supports life.  

We also do our best to manifest clothing that's both exceedingly comfortable and classically stylish, with colors inspired by the wide range of nature's palate. After months of development, we debuted our first take on the wrap dress this year, and just re-introduced our 100% hemp linen button-down shirts (now in the shop). We hope you'll enjoy these new styles as well as the ones we have planned for this year.

Thanks again for being vital,

Let us hemp you out!

http://www.vitalhemp.com

store and wholesale: 310.450.2260