*CEO of One World Products, Isiah Thomas, is out to play a leading role in the cannabis industry, the same way he dominated the courts. The entrepreneur and NBA Hall Of Famer hopes to accomplish this new dream by helping make new car designs whose interiors will be made of hemp (marijuana/weed).
One World Products, a subsidiary of ISIAH International, is the largest Black-controlled, fully-licensed hemp and cannabis producer in Columbia. Until 2021, the company used to be known as One World Pharma but rebranded to better align with its new calling. It planted its first cannabis crop in 2018 and began reaping in 2020. Since then, it has been supplying cannabis products across the world to its clients, reports Moguldom.
“This rebranding is more reflective of the multiple industries and markets we are now actively participating in as a supplier of both commercial hemp and cannabis products,” Thomas explained. “Our ongoing commitment to ESG standards, and the use of hemp-based products, as an environmentally beneficial alternative, is a critical aspect of our company, and is more aligned with our current approach.”
He also stated the various beneficial uses of hemp.
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“About the uses of hemp, we are talking about its thousands of applications. It is a big opportunity for us and for the world,” Thomas quipped. “We believe as the world continues to look at reducing the carbon footprint, the world will come back to a natural place, to the uses of hemp, and what it can do across the board.”
He added that the company’s rebranding “is more reflective of the multiple industries and markets we are now actively participating in as a supplier of both commercial hemp and cannabis products.”
“Our ongoing commitment to ESG standards, and the use of hemp-based products, as an environmentally beneficial alternative, is a critical aspect of our company, and is more aligned with our current approach.”
BREAKING: Isiah Thomas’s One World Products & Afro-Colombian Group Will Dedicate A Million Acres To Industrial Hemp Production $OWPC $STLA https://t.co/GkRdHvY2QG via @Benzinga
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) May 6, 2022
Meanwhile, the company is partnering with automaker Stellantis (which manufactures brands like Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge, Maserati, and more) to make weed cars. As reported by Benzinga in October 2021, One World was chosen for a pilot program by the National Business League (NBL) and automaker Stellantis.
According to a Forbes report, part of the terms of the partnership has it that One World will “develop and supply hemp-based bioplastic components for cars’ interiors and exteriors.”
“We work closely with the auto industry to reduce its carbon footprint by replacing some of their plastics with hemp, we work in the construction space as well,” Thomas said. “When we look at plastic, anything will be made of hemp and we want to be the biggest supplier of that. Not only can you use hemp to build the car, but for fuel, food, and plastics.”
To meet the demand, One World announced in May it would dedicate a million acres to the production of hemp.
Thomas believes his partnership with Stellas has placed him closer to his dream of building cars made from hemp to create a safer environment.
“I envision a future where the Fords, the GMs, the Stellantis’ of the world take plastics out of their automobiles and infuse them with industrial hemp to replace those plastics, thus reducing their carbon footprint,” he said.
And why did he choose to headquarter One World’s grow operations in Columbia? For him, it is to help support the indigenous and Afro-Columbian population.
“Think of us as the raw material supplier of hemp and cannabis to the industry. We cultivate and we grow in Colombia because of the equatorial advantages that it gives us,” Thomas said. “We work with the indigenous farmers, and we work with the soil and the sun. Not only in the CBD space but also in the hemp space.”
But Hemp cars are not really a new idea, as you may assume. Did you know that Henry Ford released a hemp car prototype in 1941? Yes. The body of this car was made mainly from plant-derived materials like soybeans, wheat, hemp and flax.
And more recently, Bruce Dietzen built on the same idea by investing over $200,000 to build the Renew, a car made of cannabis hemp. Dietzen told CNBC that the ultimate goal is to introduce the world’s first carbon-negative vehicle, and the key to that is going back to what Henry Ford advocated in 1941.
“That’s the idea,” he added. Make everything you possibly can, including your fuels, out of plant materials.”
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