Collaborating with TABU, the 8000 Kicks team is thrilled to announce the hemp revolution. In the wee hours of Tuesday, September 17, the Portuguese-American hemp footwear brand and TABU, a company that produces CBD-derived products, launched a massive operation to distribute over 500 industrial hemp plants throughout the city of Lisbon. These plants were strategically placed in popular locations such as Praça do Comércio, Parque Eduardo VII, metro stations, supermarkets, universities, hospitals and more. The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness about hemp in Portugal and educate people about its numerous benefits.
8000Kicks CEO and Co-Founder Bernardo Carreira explains, “Last year we dropped the plants in Berlin, but we decided to do this hemp revolution in Portugal because this is where we manufacture a lot of our products. We need to make a statement about all the challenges we face when manufacturing our hemp shoes. It’s really difficult to get hemp here. Both farming and processing the fiber is a nightmare.”
Miguel Maximianol, co-founder of Tabu CBD, shares the same mission as 8000Kicks in “bringing hemp back.” He says, “At Tabu, as the name suggests, our goal is to break the taboo around cannabis and showcase how this plant has therapeutic benefits and can improve the quality of life for Portuguese people on both medicinal and economic levels.”
Although industrial hemp plants may resemble recreational cannabis plants, they are not for smoking and may be mistaken as such. Hemp is nature’s purifier. It is a unique crop that can help shape a better future for generations to come. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider purchasing products made from hemp when given the option:
– The plant captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, for every ton of hemp fiber produced, 1.63 tons of carbon are removed from the air, making hemp a much more effective carbon sequester than trees.
– One hectare of hemp produces as much fiber as two hectares of cotton.
– Hemp helps nourish soils with depleted nutrients and reverses the effects of erosion.
– Hemp does not require herbicides or pesticides.
– Hemp is one of the strongest fibers in nature and was even used by Henry Ford to build cars.
– Hemp is naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial.
“Our mission is to bring hemp back, showing everyone that hemp products are far superior to products made from other fibers. This is the green answer we’ve been waiting for,” Carreira says.
To further spread the message, the team placed over 1000 explanatory tags on the plants, explaining the advantages of hemp and the importance of this fiber for society and the environment. With this campaign, the 8000 Kicks team hopes to inspire others to choose hemp products and contribute to a more sustainable future.