Magazines

As public interest in “tree-free” paper has grown, some companies within the pulp and paper industry have seized upon tropical bamboo as a “green” alternative to virgin wood fiber. but industrial use of tropical bamboo, combined with an escalating global paper demand, threatens what remains of the world’s last intact bamboo forests.

Tolshil residents have long been known for their fine textured hemp cloth. Hemp cloth woven in Tolshil is as delicate as ramie, which is why the villagers’ products earned a reputation for their exceptionally high quality. The techniques used to produce an item of tribute for the royal court have been handed down from generation to generation, with this expertise being designated an intangible cultural asset by the Korean government.

Canadian farmers have the federal government’s permission to grow hemp this year, but they’d best be careful. The fibrous plant, long used for making rope and more recently touted as an alternative to wood for making particleboard, is perhaps better known as marijuana. Its cultivation has been illegal in Canada since 1938.

George Washington grew it. Thomas Jefferson urged others to grow it. So how did hemp earn its rep as Public Enemy Number One? Australian director Anthony Clarke traces the much-maligned plant’s history from its revered status in ancient Sumeria to its modern-day vilification.

The Hip Hemp Creations kit — whose instructions state that “contrary to popular belief, industrial hemp has no hallucinogenic properties” — is designed to appeal to the tween children of baby boomers who remember playing with kits when they were kids.