Working every day towards a more harmonious world, Brianna Kilcullen is applying her years of sustainability and supply chain expertise to disrupt the textile industry. She joins Joy Beckerman from HempAce International to talk about the many benefits hemp has over other fibers. For example, one Anact's hemp bath towels saves 526 days of drinking water. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/brinana-kilcullen
Working every day towards a more harmonious world, Brianna Kilcullen is applying her years of sustainability and supply chain expertise to disrupt the textile industry. She joins Joy Beckerman from HempAce International to talk about the many benefits hemp has over other fibers. For example, one Anact's hemp bath towels saves 526 days of drinking water.
https://podconx.com/guests/brinana-kilcullen
Joy Beckerman: [00:00:26] Well, Brianna, thank you so much for being with us on Hemp Barons today. I'm really excited to be here. So thank you, Joy. You know, it's so thrilling for me when we get to interview folks who are in the oil seed and fiber space, as many of the listeners know, I've been involved with Hemp for some 30 years. And, of course, from an oil seed and fiber perspective and Hemp extract and CTD course took us all by surprise, kind of blindsided us about six years ago. And we're so grateful for him decked out in CBD for drawing so much attention to this massive potential of this plant. And it's so exciting as infrastructure builds here in the United States for the many uses of this versatile, valuable plant. When we get to interview folks who are really involved with it and taking charge and you are a star really, because you come to Hemp, not just with your enthusiasm and not just with a very deep background in grassroots activism that I'm really excited to talk about as we move further. But you are quite an accomplished executive. You come from under armor several years and under armor as well as Prana for nearly three years as associate production manager, sustainability analyst, corporate social responsibility, executive positions. And you're taking all that you've learned and all of that passion and all of that great experience with those large successful companies and delivering it to Hemp and the promise of Hemp. Miss Brianna. What brought you to create this incredible Hemp style and two big company and act? Tell us about it.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:02:07] Now, I'm just going to go do a quick round around the track. That was such a great inspirational summary of myself. So thank you for that. Yeah. So, you know, what really led me to Hemp was my work in the textile industry and seeing that disconnect and seeing how broken the system was. Meaning that it was it operates on this almost two year calendar product creation process. So designers are forecasting years out to try to sell, which creates lots of issues if their designs don't hit the mark. So there's a lot of excess inventory and we just don't have designing for end of life. And on top of that, we're also the impact of how these products are being made that are happening, people and the planet. And it's so removed for the US market in regards to that entire supply chain. And I just really was frustrated working in the corporate space for these brands, but not seeing the things I felt needed to change fast enough because there just wasn't that, you know, leadership happening. There just weren't people who or I didn't see who were doing it. So I knew that I wanted to be a part of that. I just didn't know what that looked like.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:03:37] And I never expected it would be as a business owner. I thought it would be as a consultant or continuing to work within the brand space. But really, 2016, I would say I remember leading up to the election. And just like the chaos of people saying this won't happen, things, you know, we won't do this. We won't go backwards and seen it all happen. And so for me, it was this. I was an ally at the time and I woke up in the morning and I realized, OK. It is we have to do this. I can't expect someone else to do to fix the things I've seen. And especially with the climate crisis, to acknowledge the role that textiles play. So I was the lead up to it. And then the decision around working with Hemp really came from my own personal problem. So it's kind of I knew I what I knew in 2016 that I was ready, but I needed to take ownership. I don't know how that looks. And so I kind of started looking around me to see to look for those clues. And I remember I had these, like, cows that were so super sustainable that we're picking up this really gross mildewy smell.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:04:57] And I was really frustrated. And everyone always ask in sustainability, you know, what brands do I buy from? Where do I go? And I just didn't feel like I had anyone I could recommend because I didn't. My personal problems weren't Bhima. I have a washer dryer and I have italic contrasts. And so that really teed me up for what is now an act because I wanted to create a product that would sell my own personal. Problems and Hemp just happen to be a part of that solution. When I was working in China and I learned about it and I was like, this is awesome. I should have a Hemp towel. I should have kriv. And I didn't see anyone doing it on the market. So I just started connecting the dots. And I saw the boom of Cannabis. I saw everyone gravitating towards CBD and I knew there are these other abuses. And I felt like I had something that could contribute and that people would naturally be wanting to figure out why we don't have infrastructure to manufacture here. And it was a great opportunity. So those are the main cases that were driving me to create an act.
Joy Beckerman: [00:06:07] Well, we're so glad that you did create an act. And indeed, we are the ones we've been waiting for so years. You solve your own problem and you're solving problems for the rest of us. And my entire Anak Hemp town set has been shipped and it's on its way to me right now and I cannot wait to receive it. Now we have an infrastructure problem in the United States. We used to at some point long ago manufacture textiles. And my understanding is that a lot of those that machinery and equipment, metal as it is, is either sunk into the ground, recycled or sold off to other countries that are also not using the textile machinery right now. So we do. We have and and I see here, of course, also that part of your vast experience at the executive level with these other clothing companies is also as a supply chain consultant. So tell us a little bit about what you know about the textile infrastructure here in the United States versus, of course, China is so far ahead of us, and particularly with Hemp, they discovered what I call the post prohibition technology of gumming Hemp or delineating it separating the Linnean from the fiber bundles. So they are quite ahead. But what do you see in terms of supply chain for textiles in the United States, particularly Hemp? And then if I could trouble you to also talk about terrorists that we're contending with right now, particularly you and those in the textile industry.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:07:38] Sure. And thank you so much for your support. That's one of the things that we try to communicate to people because people want me and make people find in the US what made in USA manufacturing, but they don't realize it doesn't exist. And one of the only ways that it will exist is by creating a market so that farmers and processors will invest in it because they'll know where they're selling to. So that's something that's super important. When we talk about the manufacturing component, because so many people want to create those certain guidelines or specifications that they want in order to purchase, but they're not realistic. And really, this industry for textiles specifically has left decades ago and is built on a really unsustainable model of chasing low cost labor. And it's usually the first industry and to developing countries. So right now, the conversation is that the industry will go to Africa. That's the last continent that hasn't gone to yet. And so when I saw that trend happening, I really didn't want to see what the textile industry can do from an environmental component to countries in Africa. And how could we invest in automation and robotics and things like an Elan Musk in regards to innovating so that we can invest and have it here in the US? There's a lot of people who talk about that.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:09:10] They can do Hemp textiles and everything. At first I believed everybody. And when I was first sourcing and looking at how to manufacture and then when I realized when I started asking, can you show me a sample of yarn? Can you show me a, you know, fabric? What do you have? Nobody could show me anything that was like. And I've kind of been the situation to date. So there's a lot of people constantly reaching out. But as a startup and, you know, right now, I 100 percent own the company. We just don't have that R&D or capabilities to like, you know, invest in that with other people unless they've done the investing themselves. And I will I do get a little frustrated. I mean, I haven't done it a lot lately and I love Patagonia. But they, you know, will we'll say certain places in Kentucky and Colorado are doing Hemp fiber. They're sourcing that. And so that's not true. And I've explored all of those avenues and none of them have ever yielded those results for me personally. And so. I think in the textile industry and sometimes in the Hemp industry, people don't realize that it hasn't really been done because they're like, oh, we saw this, you know, press release or resolve it. So it must be happening. It's like, no, it's not.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:10:39] I tried it, but also, you know, a lot of a lot of smoke and so many smoke and mirrors. No, there is no Hemp plane. No, there is no Hemp water bottle. And no, there is nobody manufacturing Hemp textiles on any commercial scale in North America. Just not happening right now.
Joy Beckerman: [00:10:59] Not yet. Not yet. Right.
Joy Beckerman: [00:11:02] We're building it. So it's the one one foot.
Joy Beckerman: [00:11:05] It's that one foot in front of the other in terms of asking farmers to grow a crop for which there's very little infrastructure and asking investors to invest in infrastructure for which there is only incrementally growing crop. Most folks, as you know, most farmers did grow for extract last year, sort of chasing that unicorn of a million dollars per acre. That's never going to happen. And you're such a hero, such a heroine for creating this market. It's buying Hemp my speeches since 1990. Ah, if we want to create this market, we must drive it economically. We do that by voting with our dollars. We buy Hemp. We create the market. You are amazing in that you are delivering to us the items for for us to purchase here. And and how are the the terrorists treating your business right now? I have other friends, of course, in this industry, Larry, servant of Hemp traders, who's a long time, decades long friend of mine. Tyler Frink of Hemp Topia. And I know that, you know, these terrorists are affecting you. And yet this is your business model. It is bent on delivering this fiber and this textile and this finished product. So how are you handling.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:12:23] Yeah. So we're still we're a baby. Like, I have this idea in August of twenty seventeen. And then I left Parana and moved home to Jacksonville in twenty eighteen. And then I did. And we did. I didn't do the Kickstarter until this past September. So we didn't go to market until March. And then that we were supposed to have our launch party was when everything hit with Cupid. So where I guess I just want to give you that context, because we have a lot of buzz and we've been building, but we truly haven't even really had our first here. And there are about. So when I ordered I placed the order for our Kickstarter. Unfortunately, it did come in, you know, right when the tariff came in. But we haven't been impacted in the sense that we're not at a scale or we're ordering that often or we're thinking about it. But it's definitely because of my background and learning. Early on, you never want to have all of your production in one place. I did open an opportunity for us to find other partners outside of China. So we do have that now. And I've just been trying to be really strategic. Yes. Or being really for two years before we just, you know, with in light of everything that's been happening within the U.S. and globally. I wanted to kind of step back just to make sure we're really thoughtful with how even though we love Hemp and we know it's really what it's what's opportunity is, we know that some people, you know, are just trying to survive right now. So we didn't. Yeah.
Joy Beckerman: [00:14:58] Well, and what what a blessing among it all. It's you know, it's amazing how the light that gets through the cracks and allows us to move forward with our mission and our vision and our goals. Can you explain to the listeners why it is that you chose Hemp over particularly for something that is going to be met, that you why you chose Hemp over another fiber? Why is hands and I'm going to go ahead and say it superior as a fiber, particularly for something that gets wet and needs to dry.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:15:28] So Hemp is superior from its molecular structure being Hollow's, which allows the water to pass through it and not gets back.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:15:38] And that was what attracted me to it. And also that it's that it's bio static so it resists the growth of bacteria. And those were I was really the key component for me growing up in Florida than living in California near the ocean and wanting to make sure that my town didn't pick up that smell in the water, wasn't getting locked. It was really important to find a fiber that was a natural plant fiber and had the performance characteristics that were going to solve those problems. And so that's really what connected me to it was its performance and also being incredibly durable and and made that natural. And then on top of that, then learning about sustainability being grown and comparing that to conventional cotton and that industry, it was just a no brainer to choose it as a preferred fiber in our product.
Joy Beckerman: [00:16:39] And while we love to blend, Hemp is a great blender. And with all due respect to the cotton industry, it's a short inferior fiber and the cotton crop takes up over 50 percent of the world's use of pesticides annually in what Hemp having reclaimed itself in the broad light of day among America's other agricultural commodities. And you do choose a blended into the great blender and you use a very popular and healthy blend of 55 percent Hemp, 45 percent organic cotton. You're doing that with your towel, a hand towel, the washcloth and the bath towel, which are large. By the way, I'm so excited to get those. And of course, your tote bags and your tote bag are are also unique in that. So just let the Hemp tote bags out there. Yours are 16 by 16, but with a five and a half inch bass at the bottom of the more square bottom as opposed to something circular. So I really love that 16 by 16 by 5.5 rectangular bottom. And I notice also that the answer in everything you do and it seeps out of your pores, it seeps out of your website, that in everything you do, you walk with conscience. And I can tell that. And so the artwork on your tote bags say that they are created in collaboration with local Jacksonville artists. So here you are supporting arts, supporting artists in your own community, thus supporting your community. And that's the back of every bag says not a plastic bag. I love that would be the idea to add tote bags into your offerings of beautiful sounds.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:18:22] This is really good. I never get to really talk about this, but they do so here in Florida. We did a Kickstarter and then that ended at the end of September. And so once the Kickstarter ended, I was like, OK, I was a girlie month. Like we presold 40000 sales in one month. That's the first time I've ever done that. I just you know, I'm going to take a break and recalibrate until the inventory gets there in 2020 and then prepare for going to market after that. And then everyone started asking, so what are you doing for the holidays? And I was like, oh, my gosh, I forgot that we're now like a functioning brand with like. People have expectations of me and this of an act. It's not just, you know, OK, we did the town. And, you know, when it's here, we'll be ready. This is now another opportunity for us to have a touchpoint with Resharing, who we are. And so I brainstormed and I was thinking, you know, we're here to solve problems. We're not here to create stuff. And what can we get behind that will? We'll echo and we'll we'll help with that. And around that time, I found out here in Florida that we have a really or a policy on plastic bags, meaning that you cannot create legislation. To eliminate plastic bags like in our grocery stores and our retail shops. So it's illegal to ban plastic. And I sat and fought out, which was one of the first states to to implement that.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:20:06] It's essentially the opposite of California. And so I thought, well, what if we. You know, I call the factory. And I went and found, like, different bags that I've collected throughout the year and figured out which one I like. And then. But what if I call them if they have any fabric and we can look, you know, in a quick turnaround time, develop these tote bags and get them over here and then we'll screen print them calling out they're not a plastic bag so that people can wear them and bring awareness to this issue here in Florida. But also we'll do like Florida centric prints and just get to play around and see what resonates. And so that's really where it came from. And at the time, we really I just said market. I probably did like 40 markets over the holidays. And I wanted to be aware there was a lot of people coming in like an older crowd for winter. And so I went into like, you know, give a variety of Florida based options and see what resonated with each market are each different demographic. And that's really where it came to life. And we sold out of the sea turtle like before Christmas. And then we have a couple of these prints still left in stock. And we're actually going to be doing a special one for the Black Lives Matter movement that's going to be coming out next month that I'm really excited about.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:28] I'm really excited about that. And I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I asked this question of you. I had no idea that there was literally an anti high plastic bag ban law in Florida. That's crazy pants.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:45] And yet here you are again, a perfect demonstration of in each step that you walk in, each decision that you make so carefully thought out and you use the word sustainability and and sustainable. And we and we love those words and we need those words. And also, you clearly strike me as more of a regenerative gal because you're saying, how can I. How can I regenerate here in the decisions that I'm making? And it's just it's so wonderful. And in fact, you were an activist. The name of your company is an act one word. And that's global, in fact, is the full name. Of course, your Web site is an act. Dot com. And before all of your successful career and your foray into entrepreneurial ship, and I'm so glad that we've got you here in Hemp. You, of course, were a fundraising fellow for the grassroots reconciliation group in Uganda, which is an innovative projects for refugees, former child soldiers and host communities in northern Uganda. Tell us a little bit about your experience and activism and listeners. We actually had originally scheduled this podcast interview last week, but Miss Brianna had to reschedule because she was caught up in some black lives matters protesting. And we, of course, reschedule this. This is our priority. This is our priority. And it's just amazing the spirit from which you come. Could you tell us a little bit about the work that you did in Uganda?
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:23:18] Sure. And thank you so much for for recognizing that I think, you know, as we are, least as I'm learning, as you get older, you start to peel back the layer like an onion and look back and think, what was I doing? I get to where I'm at. It's so. It is I do think it started at an early age with growing up and just my dad was a college basketball coach and so I was exposed to a lot of inequalities through going out and recruiting trips with him and seeing that I'm hearing the U.S.. And so I I actually studied in South Africa and college before I got to Uganda. And I wrote a thesis on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and compared the difference of what it looks like to use restorative justice mechanisms and post apartheid or racist societies as a tool to bridge to the future. And when I lived in South Africa, a lot of people kept telling me, you should really check out East Africa. There's a lot going on. And so when I graduated from college, I just had a couple of lunches, some intellectual people in my life at the time, and an opportunity came up. And so I thought, you know, I'm just going to this will be my gap year. And so I bought it one way slate and moved to northern Uganda and had the privilege to really get to work in that space with people and learn about their experiences. And we did a lot of market development. So working with farmers to get access to cheap meat, pineapple and banana seeds and then helping figure out the markets that they could then do, whether it be hotels in Kampala or, you know, mark the local markets and restaurants.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:25:17] And so that was just an amazing experience. I really miss living there. My parents don't miss it, but I do. And I would say my big takeaway living there really came from, you know, I'm working in this this community. And there's been so much devastation from the civil war led by Joseph Kony and Eleri. And, you know, these people, this is their home. I'm like, who am I? I can help right. With certain things. But they're going to know how to fix this. They're going to this is you know, they're invested. This is their community. And it really started making me think about what are the disconnects in my own community. And like, you know, it gets this luxury, not luxury, but this exotic, you know, component added. If someone says I went overseas, that X, Y, Z, and that's that's great. But I think that there's something to be said about staying home and do and seeing ways in which you want to help within your community and and not have to go to someone else to, you know, be a part of that. So I was really my big takeaway and why I wanted to move home after that and then start to think about how, you know, where the disconnect here. And how can we be a part of doing that and then go global. But I felt like to acknowledge the things I had already seen and knew and had firsthand experience and go into someone else's home and tell them what I thought they should do. It didn't add up to me.
Joy Beckerman: [00:26:51] So fantastic on every level. All of these lessons that Hemp gets to be the beneficiary of. Thanks to you and the folks you're looking for a gift. You're looking for something that you might actually need and use and that will last for decades. Please. You want the inact Hemp Talos. You want to enact tote bag, Hemp tote bag and boy, Brianna. I so hope, sister, that you will reach out to me just by e-mail or text as soon as those black lives matter and tote bags are ready. I mean, I want for everyone to have your products in their home. Everyone needs your products in each of their homes. And and yet this the Black Lives Matter tote bag is just so timely. And what a great gift that that will be. And I do hope that you will let us know when those become available.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:27:43] I will. And I I forgot to mention we're doing it in collaboration with several different local partners here in Jacksonville. But one of the photos we're using is a vintage photo shot on. It's called American Beach, or they called it Black Beach. And it was one of the first beaches in Florida that African-Americans could go swim without any issue. And so the photo is of this woman, g.G, who has a nonprofit based here that we're gonna do a percentage of the proceeds of our sales will go towards funding young women of color to get out and learn how to surf this summer. So we're really, really excited about it.
Joy Beckerman: [00:28:27] I'm really excited about it. And I'm so glad to have you on the show. I can't wait to get an update. It's such a pleasure to watch this business that you've created develop. I so hope that if you ever need any help, that you will please reach out to me. I get involved in the industry for many, many years and I'm just very excited to have you be a part of it. Brianna, thank you so much for being with us on Hemp Barons today and for everything that you do.
Brianna Kilcullen: [00:28:53] Thank you so much for having me. Enjoy. I really appreciate. Just getting to have a really thoughtful conversation. And like you said, and I think we're doing this for Hemp and and honoring her. But it's going to be able to help connect us towards that more regenerative future that I think we're all creating.
Joy Beckerman: [00:29:15] Thank you. Perfectly said. Thank you. Right back. Until next time. Brianna.
*IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER*
THIS IS AN AUTOMATED TRANSCRIPT AND THERE MAY BE INACCURATE AND OR INCORRECT COMPUTER TRANSLATIONS. DO NOT RELY ON THIS OR ANY TRANSCRIPT ON THE MJBULLS MEDIA WEBSITE.