In Maryland, sports apparel firm Under Armour has signed a hemp sourcing deal with Ecofibre subsidiary Hemp Black worth over $6 million.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for Hemp Black to be the exclusive supplier of biobased yarns for three years. According to Just-Style, Under Armor is also investing $4.5 million in a new production machine for Hemp Black. At full capacity, the machine is expected to generate $5.9 million annually. Startup is expected by early next year, with a second machine added within 18 months.
“When Ecofibre announced our strategic review earlier this year, we advised that one of the key opportunities for Hemp Black would be to secure new performance yarn clients,” said CEO Eric Wang. “The outstanding technical capabilities of the team enable us to work with tier-1 clients on large-scale opportunities.”