Hemp Grows Up: A Long-Awaited Crop Now Insulates U.S. Homes

Industrial hemp always had believers. What it lacked was a supply chain. Hempitecture is changing that—starting with the first commercial-scale factory in the U.S. making high-performance home insulation from hemp.

Headquartered in Idaho, the company has shipped to 5,000+ customers across 48 states. It’s now the largest buyer of industrial hemp fiber in North America—proving that a crop once sidelined by regulation and volatility can power a fast-growing manufacturing business.

In this episode, co-founder Tommy Gibbons shares the operational playbook: how Hempitecture proved its insulation performs, raised capital through crowdfunding when venture capital didn’t show up, and built a new distribution model in a category with no precedent.

Hempitecture’s insulation cuts carbon in two ways—by lowering embodied emissions during manufacturing and reducing operational emissions once installed.

Nearly a century after hemp was banned in 1937, the supply chain is finally getting built—with carbon impact to match.

And this time, it’s not just legal—it’s scalable.

Show Notes

Guest: Tommy Gibbons, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer

Company: Hempitecture

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What is Supercool?

Low-carbon innovations are scaling. But innovation alone doesn't win markets. Adoption does. Each week, climate entrepreneur Josh Dorfman talks with the founders, CEOs, and executives who win customers, grow revenue, and capture market share—by making their low-carbon solutions the industry’s preferred choice. Without adoption, the clean energy transition falters. With adoption, we build the low-carbon future. Supercool reveals how we get there.