 Today's guest is the sustainability enterprise catalyst of hemp black Michael savory joins us to talk about forging a purposeful and disruptive new material and differentiating hemp black from other fashion companies This is school of hustle the show refined advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way I'm Shannon the VP of social here at Go Daddy, and I live and breathe at the hustle of business Today, we're filming from the hustle of it all at the we work time square in New York City Everybody let's please give Michael a big warm welcome to the show It's so fantastic to see you. It's amazing to be here. Thanks again for inviting me This is something I've been looking forward to for the last few weeks Well, I was at fashion innovation Yes at FIT and one of our former school of hustle guests Emily Brachel's cheek sketch was moderating your panel Yes, it was amazing to meet her and to meet you in the same time And it was just a whole great event. I was listening to your story from the front row taking pictures of her and I just had to find you And here we are connected a few weeks later now We're here, and I have to thank you for being my 1,000th follower on Instagram. It was a pretty big thing. I'm gonna lie know that hitting that follow request on Instagram Really proved out to work very well for me as I'm here now You've officially made me a nano influencer, which is exciting. So thank you for that But you know, of course Where we're here to talk about your very very interesting business You were one of the first members to join hemp laugh and you know You know stirs some mixed reactions in people when they hear, you know businesses centered around hemp And I'm wondering how do you describe the benefit of hemp to people who feel it's taboo See that's a thing we get a lot Hemp has had a very bad propaganda campaign against it for the last hundreds of years Saying what terrible plant it is when in fact is actually one of the best plants in the world It's one of the only plants that can feed you heal you clothe you and house you all in just one beautiful plant So having to talk to people and explain that it's actually a good plant that can do all these amazing things It's been a fun journey and hemp black is a disreptor in the production of apparel and accessories and How is what you're doing at hemp black? Different than other companies. How is it changing the world? Like tell us that really you know really what this is all about So one of the ways that we're different from other companies and trying to change the world is what we kind of go forward with We're not your kind of company that just sets out to make amazing clothes Which we are doing but we're also to find the science around it So we pride ourselves on being a company that is a technology first and fashion second So we're able to put the science first as well as the sustainability to make sure that Everything we're saying and putting forward is the truth and is the best product possible Which allows us to differentiate us differentiate ourselves from the others. So is it that your? It's a blend it sounds like it is a product But it is a technology and it's more of a technology than a product Yes, so are you making fabrics? Are you making ink like how tell me about like like what this technology is and just very curious Yeah, no, so that's a question. We had asked a lot So we are both and doing everything and doing it all So we have six patented technologies right now that will work me on scaling up Coming everything from carbon-infused fibers, which are hemp black origin CBD infused fiber that are antimicrobial as well as inks vegan leather and other properties such as nanofilms So with all of these great technologies We're able to actually put those into clothing and into fabrics and any textile around you So we're able to express our technology the best way and so when you infuse these sort of fibers and things Does it make the fabric more sustainable biodegradable? Does it have any environmental impact specifically or no hemp is naturally one of the most sustainable plants out there Sequester is about a hundred and fifty percent of its weight in carbon dioxide producing healthy clean oxygen Afterwards as well as it helps to restore the soils and can be grown anywhere in the world So by just switching to hemp and using that in your process You're already making it that much more sustainable for the end consumer to use is it expensive And does that cost to get passed on to the customer? Thankfully, we actually have a sister company that we're able to take their waste streams from their processes They're a CBD company. We're able to take their waste and actually turn that into our products So we're able to kind of close the loop on their system in order to produce our products Which is a huge benefit to the consumer when it comes to cost as well as kind of not creating new materials Wow How did all of this get started? So that's a very interesting story. So it all started when Barry Lambert and Eric Wang of Eco Fiber approached Thomas Jefferson University to donate money Research industrial hemp are then chief innovation officer Mark Sunderland a lot of a new idea of how is he going to? Revolutionize hemp and kind of bring it to the 21st century and that's where he turned it on turn it upside down and said We're not going to use the scratchy crunchy I'm going to spoke my t-shirt kind of fiber that we're used to in the 70s and 80s But actually make a technological advancement in the fiber of how we're using it Hence hemp black was born and our namesake and all this amazing technology that we're having today You're wearing it today. Yes, so tell me about this the logo. What's going on? Yes, so on this shirt you're wearing here now the shirt itself isn't made from hemp But the ink is so we've been able to create a hemp black ink from our technologies Something that is a lot more sustainable than the curtain black pigments out there on the market by able to substitute our Ink for other inks in there you're able to create a kind of a carbon negative ink That's both environmentally friendly non-toxic that you're able to print with on Packaging on t-shirts on absolutely everything so this is one of our first to market technologies, but it's something that's going to be able to grow as printer ink and all those things are huge huge markets. Oh The light just went on when you said that oh the oh it's the impact in the reach is enormous correct So sustainability is clearly very important to you. It's a word that's used a lot I don't know if everybody knows what it actually means when you think about what sustainability means to hemp black How would you describe it to those watching? So it's true sustainability is a tricky one. Yeah, it's one of the words. I sometimes hate to use because it is such a Nobody really knows what the meaning is Sustainability can be anything from making sure your finances are great or correct You're you're able to stay in yourself But for us at hemp black how that looks at is being able to create technologies and products that are Fair on the environment. We're doing no damage It's kind of within our mission statement as itself as well as improving the lives of the people who interact with it So by creating clothing that is antimicrobial without the use of silver more able to create something that has no No worries of it leaching on to your skin So we take into aspect the the health of the consumers and the health of the environment as well as being able to be Financially secure for all of us within the company or else if we're not secure in that we won't be able to spread our technologies Around the world and what advice would you have for consumers that say that they're not quite there yet? Many consumers do care about what you're talking about you bet they do but what about those who say I don't know What's the big deal? See that's a tough one you're never going to get past those consumers that want to say no to everything But mine is the education if you look around us today you go outside. It's it's fall. It's winter It's hotter than it was 30 years ago Snow is melting. These are things we can't we can't continue to ignore So while they say that they can live with it for now live with it for tomorrow in a few years They'll they'll notice a difference. So how are you thinking about getting traction in the marketplace? So that is a fun one for us, but it comes down to What I said earlier is the science and the education side of things So we don't see ourselves as I said just a fashion company. We're also a technology company and an education company We do things such as this with the daddy We do conferences where we're telling people not just that we're producing these amazing products But this is also what hemp can do for you by showing all aspects of The thought the plant itself we're able to kind of break down those barriers of everyone saying oh, you're just trying to sell us those products So and also putting the consumer first Within our company as a whole we have years and years of experience on both the retail side the manufacturing side and the development side So using all of that experience to saying okay What is the consumer want at each stage of that production process? We're able to kind of encapsulate all of the consumers needs In the beginning of the product as well as the final And what will success look like for you for us being successful will be our technology kind of around the world and not just In our clothing line in our brand that we're starting but everywhere There's so many great brands out there that are using other companies technologies to make a difference And I think that's what success will be for us is how we're able to partner with those companies who are also making a difference now To work with them to make a difference on a wider scale and with that said how about we take on the game called hustle time Let's do this. Let's do it Drive stick shift your automatic stick shift. Yes or no socks with sandals. No most irrational fear Bears no cheese ever again or no sugar ever again. No sugar describe yourself in three words a unique interesting Canadian surf set cocktails poolside poolside least favorite candy Cinnamon hearts Saturday morning cartoons or late night TV late night TV drive yourself or call a car service drive myself favorite Jennifer Lopez movie I haven't seen any would you your mother? How would your mother describe you? stubborn who is someone that defines success to you Muhammad Ali favorite breakfast cereal Free loops summer or winter winter best part of your workout The end personal trainers effective or too much cash. I do miss cash great flavor. Yeah, your name You may which would you rather add to your lifetime or value? Time or value value. Okay. Go to karaoke song Backstreet Boys meat meatballs or fish fish favorite first record you bought your own money. Oh What is it chronic? One two eighteen nineteen twenty twenty-one The lucky twenty-one now. It's legal And I have to go back actually because I was in the spirit of competition Yeah, I said go to karaoke song and you said backstreet boys But then I didn't let you say the song and that's a group and we're gonna count eggs as my fault But I have to ask though. What is your actual? I wanted that way. I wanted that way I'm not gonna my karaoke is terrible. That's a great way. I like that one And the whole audience sings with me when I do that one So oh If you can get everyone to stop having drinks and chatting and join in on your performance So I think I think it's more for their sanity, so they don't have to hear me anymore, but Favorite part of your day 11 a.m. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten don't worry about things you can't affect worst piece of advice Don't question things. How do you use your career to inspire others? I've been getting my great opportunity to educate the world so education ever felt like walking away Thankfully not no one thing you still need to learn that there's a lot more than one thing What do you want people to learn from you um that hemp is amazing plant What's next for you um? Just expanding what we're doing now. Just kind of it's showing the world who we are kind of black Who inspires you my team who challenges you my team? They do don't they yeah It's it's a great work dynamic But you know it's you need those people on your team to challenge you with everything you do or else You'll never progress forward Well, this next question is actually coming from our favorite pug entrepreneur noodle And I he needs a little advice if that would be okay Noodle loves to look his best and wear nice clothes But he has become highly aware of environmental impacts of fast fashion What advice would you have for someone who wants to change their habits as a consumer and support a more sustainable lifestyle? I would say to take a second and actually look at what you're doing A lot of people think that you need to make these big grand gestures to make more of a sustainable lifestyle And that's not true. It always starts with the little things whether it's reading the tag tags of your clothing to see where it's made from Try to buy local or just even looking where you're shopping You want to support those companies that are homegrown that are producing things on a like I said a local level But also just realizing that it's the small things that will make a large difference Biking more to work rather than driving or getting reusable straws They all make they all add up to make a big difference. They do it all counts And then I think also we don't have to Live in a world of like the quantity being like I need all these different things But maybe fewer pieces that if they cost a little more, you know That's okay because you have fewer pieces at a higher quality and it seems like a small thing at the time But it's really making a big value and a big impact on the world No, exactly every person did that that adds up exact There's like how many billions of people in the world every person did one thing and that's thing if we have Rather than five pieces for going out once We just have one really good piece that you can wear multiple times that a piece will last you much longer Or you even can get into like the consignment economy You know your your clothing could end up on real real as a high Authenticated piece of fashion and and maybe that's an extra too, right because the idea of like sharing and reusing is okay No, exactly. That's that's things to reduce reuse and always refuse to provide refuse to buy new and just I like that when we Close out the show. I always like to leave everybody with a final thought So I'm going to read three quotes and ask you which one resonates the most with you and why okay? Number one whenever you find yourself in the side of the majority. It is time to pause and reflect Number two there is no traffic jam along the extra mile and Number three too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. Oh I'm gonna say say number three And the reason for that is a lot of people think that they won't be able to succeed if they leave or take that leap of faith Many of us are caught in jobs that are either going nowhere or just doing it because we need to make ends meet But the end of the day, you'll always survive us. We've survived for thousands of years and it's not gonna stop now So definitely the third one. Thank you for that and thank you for opening up today. Yeah No, thank you for inviting me. This has been a wonderful experience and everything you're doing here is amazing. Thank you How can everyone follow you so you can follow us? We are our website www.hemplac.com on Instagram at Hemplac or my personal one at Michael dot savory So as on Twitter at Hemplac the USA and I also have to say to also follow go daddy because we have Fabulous entrepreneurs like Michael coming to you every week across Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Twitter Facebook all the usual suspects and as always we'll see you soon