Irvine, CA – April 20th, 2009 – IMMAE announced today that it will be making a major push to introduce hemp based resources into its sourcing show, MMA Resource. MMA Resource will be a “show within a show”, marrying Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) product manufacturers with various material and service providers. This push to introduce hemp as a viable material resource for MMA manufacturers is part of IMMAE’s larger “IMMAE Green Project”, a push towards environmentally friendly business policy.
The industrial viability and versatility of hemp is legendary with possible uses including rope, thread, lanyard, fabric, and advanced elastics for the production of MMA clothing and gear. Ranging beyond these simple applications, hemp is the main ingredient in one of the strongest wood composite systems known to man. The strength of all wood composites is based on the length of the fiber which that particular wood produces. As an example a Douglas Fir tree produces fibers less than 1 inch long. Cannabis has the distinction of producing plant fibers equal to the entire height of a plant. So a 10 foot plant is also capable of producing a 10 foot long continuous wood fiber. When applied to wood composite technologies, this means hemp is capable of producing composite structures as strong as steel and as light as wood. This expands the possibilities of the use of hemp in MMA based industries beyond clothing manufacture to other hard manufactured goods up to and including full size competition cages and ring structures. This technology does not exist today but is achievable in the coming years.
IMMAE would like to stress that the MMA Resource show will in no way be based solely on hemp based products. These products will only be a subset of the resources pushed along with cotton, nylons, and other industrial textiles. IMMAE is simply ensuring that the hemp as a resource is properly represented along with all the other resources available today as a viable material for diverse manufacturing methods and products.
Imagine the NFL, NBA, or MLB promoting hemp at any of their events. Try real hard. Try to get all the Budweiser, Coors Light, and Miller ads out of your head for a moment and focus. Try and look past the Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis ads, I know you can do it.
Nope, just wouldn’t happen. The big sports leagues can’t advertise hemp! These athletes are role models for the children! They can’t support hemp and put out a confusing pro-drug message.
