HFGA Standards
A common language for hemp fiber and grain — so a grower, a processor, and a mill can describe the same bale the same way. Open to everyone, free to use, no membership required.
How an HFGA standard is made
Standards only work when the people who have to meet them helped write them. Ours are developed in public and cost nothing to adopt.
Drafted in the open
A Technical Committee of growers, processors, mills, brands, and accredited labs writes the draft against published test methods.
60-day public comment
Every draft is posted for comment. Anyone can respond, and every comment receives a written disposition.
Ratified and versioned
Ratified standards carry a code and version. Lots cite the exact version they conform to, so a claim never drifts.
Free to conform
No membership fee, no per-tonne royalty. Conformity attaches to a tested lot or a registered product, never to a company. Independent verification is a service, charged at cost.
Textiles
DraftThree standards in draftBast fiber quality, retting and decortication practice, restricted substances, and field-to-bale traceability for hemp entering spinning, blending, and technical nonwoven supply chains.
HFGA US Hemp Textile Standard
The HFGA US Hemp Textile Standard (HFGA-TX-US-01) sets fiber grades, retting, restricted substances, and field-to-bale traceability for US hemp textile fiber.
HFGA EU Hemp Textile Standard
The HFGA EU Hemp Textile Standard (HFGA-TX-EU-01) sets hemp textile fiber grades for the EU market, aligned to EU variety rules, REACH, and EN ISO test methods.
HFGA US/EU Decorticated Fiber Standard
The HFGA US/EU Decorticated Fiber Standard (HFGA-DF-01) grades baled decorticated hemp bast fiber for textile, construction, and composite use across both markets.
Construction
DraftOne standard in draft, more scopingHurd, shiv, and fiber specifications for the built environment — hempcrete binders and blocks, insulation batt and board, and fiber-reinforced panels. Decorticated fiber is graded once under HFGA-DF-01 and cross-listed here, since the same bale serves both textile and construction routes.
Planned scope
- HFGA US Hemp Construction Standard — hurd particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture, and binder compatibility.
- HFGA EU Hemp Construction Standard — the same architecture aligned to EN 13501 reaction-to-fire and CE marking routes.
- Thermal and hygrothermal declaration requirements (lambda value, vapour permeability) for insulation applications.
- Feedstock traceability shared with the textile standards, so a dual-output processor keeps one record system.
Drafting starts once the committee has growers, processors, and end users at the table.
Chemicals
PlannedScoping — call for participants openHemp as a chemical and materials feedstock — cellulose purity for regenerated fiber and bioplastics, hurd for pulp, and hemp seed oil derivatives for industrial use.
Planned scope
- HFGA Hemp Cellulose Feedstock Standard — alpha-cellulose content, ash, extractives, and lignin limits for dissolving-grade pulp.
- Bio-based content declaration and mass-balance accounting rules for hemp-derived polymers.
- Industrial hemp seed oil specification — free fatty acid, peroxide value, and oxidative stability for non-food applications.
- Residual-solvent and process-chemistry restrictions shared with the textile RSL.
Drafting starts once the committee has growers, processors, and end users at the table.
How conformity works
Three layers, kept deliberately separate. A standard should be citable in contracts for years; a verification scheme should be able to respond to a new fraud pattern in a season.
Standard
What a grade means
Neutral and product-agnostic. Defines the grades, thresholds, test methods, and traceability every claim is measured against. No product names ever appear in a standard.
Product Conformance Profile
What a product claims
A manufacturer maps one named commercial product to a grade — tightening parameters, naming approved varieties and regions, choosing a verification level. A profile may tighten a threshold, never loosen one.
Lot Verification Record
Whether a batch met it
A dated check against real material: the evidence bundle examined, the results against their limits, the verdict. Issued under HFGA-VER-01. This is what a conformity claim cites, and what a buyer can look up.
Scheme & conformity
DraftTwo documents in draftHow a conformity claim is made, checked, and withdrawn. These documents sit alongside the material standards rather than inside them, so verification practice can evolve without reopening a ratified standard.
HFGA Verification Scheme Rules
The HFGA Verification Scheme Rules (HFGA-VER-01) set the verification levels, evidence schedule, sampling rates, and non-conformance handling for HFGA claims.
HFGA Product Conformance Profile
The HFGA Product Conformance Profile (HFGA-PCP-00) is the template for mapping a named product to a grade of an HFGA standard, plus registration rules.
Help write the next standard
Growers, processors, mills, brands, and laboratories are all represented on the Technical Committee. There is no fee to participate, and no fee to declare conformity or use the mark.
Get in touch
Questions about planting, selling, exports, or standards — tell us what you grow and we will point you at the right person. No cost, no obligation.