Association between Founder’s Hemp and Nufabrx® to revive the North Carolina textile industry

Founder’s Hemp, North Carolina’s first registered hemp processing company, and Nufabrx®, a biomaterials technology company, announced a partnership to reinvigorate the North Carolina Textile Industry by introducing infused textiles, and bringing new quality textile jobs to the area.

For the past three years, Founder’s Hemp and Nufabrx have been testing and developing a compression sleeve garment, called Hemp Squeeze, using Founder’s Hemp CBD Oil. The hemp extract is infused into the fibers of the Nufabrx yarn, a patented technology that delivers 3-dimensional, 360°of active relief to the elbow and knee.

Bob Crumley, Founder and CEO of Founder’s Hemp wants to link hemp to textiles to help break the stigma against hemp. “We want to get people thinking more about how hemp can be used to help grow other industries,” he said. Specialty products, like infused textiles found in Hemp Squeeze, are one way to bring quality textile jobs back to the state.

“We’re taking a brand new industry – hemp, and taking an old industry – textile and we’re using new technology to help rejuvenate textiles in North Carolina,” said Crumley. “I never dreamed, when we first started this 3 years ago, that our Hemp Squeeze product would be made in Asheboro.”

For decades, the textile industry was an essential part of North Carolina’s economy. In the early 2000s, North Carolina textile facilities were being moved overseas or they risked being shut down. “In Asheboro alone, thousands of people lost their jobs,” said Crumley. Randolph County, NC, which has a strong history of textile manufacturing, has seen a 43% decline in textile jobs between 2010 and 2018, according to Randolph County, NC Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

Jordan Schindler, Founder of Nufabrx® moved his headquarters in 2016 from Seattle to the Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC) in Conover, NC. “To move my vision forward, I needed a home base that understood the textile industry,” says Schindler.

“Nufabrx is extremely excited to partner with Founder’s Hemp to launch an entirely new category of CBD infused products,” said Schindler. “Health Wear is the next generation of clothing, with CBD and other actives built directly into the garment itself. No longer does the consumer need to remember to take multiple pills, use messy creams or patches; JUST GET DRESSED.”

The national product launch for Hemp Squeeze is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.

Courtesy: Textile World