GREENSBORO - Wrangler and Lee jeans owner Kontoor Brands has expanded its collaboration with industrial hemp producer Panda Biotech to accelerate its use of the sustainable fibre.
Kontoor, which hopes to produce denim apparel made with US-grown and processed hemp by 2023, says the latest phase of the partnership will focus on scale and traceability.
It sees hemp as a regenerative crop, which needs little water and minimal pesticides and herbicides, and offers high yields while absorbing more carbon dioxide per acre than forests.
