In this exclusive interview, Panda Biotech’s President Dixie Carter outlines how U.S.-grown, cottonized hemp is moving from pilot to mainstream: a zero-water, chemical-free, zero-waste process, verified traceability, and mill-ready performance for denim and knits—positioning hemp to stand alongside cotton while enabling nearshoring and measurable carbon gains.
Earlier this year, Panda Biotech won two awards in the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards for its innovation in fiber processing technology and commitment to zero-waste manufacturing within the textile industry.
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JS: Congratulations on Panda Biotech’s success in the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards for Innovation and Environmental Excellence. How does this recognition influence your priorities in the near future?
Dixie Carter: This recognition reinforces our mission to lead the next global evolution of sustainable textiles. At Panda Biotech, innovation and environmental responsibility go hand in hand—and this recognition from Just Style motivates us to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with our American-grown and processed industrial hemp. In the near term, we’re focused on deepening partnerships with mills and brands that share our vision for cleaner, more traceable, and more scalable fiber production.
JS: What is your long-term vision for hemp’s role in the global textile supply chain, and where do you see demand evolving first?
Dixie Carter: We see industrial hemp as the most transformative natural fiber opportunity of our time. It’s renewable, traceable, and circular by design—and it can be grown and processed at scale right here in the United States. Our vision is a global textile industry where hemp stands alongside cotton as a core, mainstream, natural fiber—delivering performance, sustainability, and resilience. The early demand is coming from brands and mills that want to decarbonize their supply chains—starting with denim.
Our newest fiber, produced via a proprietary decortication and fiber opening process, is successfully spinning 20% and 30% hemp blends up to a 30s yarn count for knits. Being able to spin hemp fiber without degumming or scouring for knit yarns will be a game-changer for our company and the textile industry. We believe we have produced the finest hemp fiber for textiles in the world, and we can offer it at scale at the best price on the market to benefit every sector of the textile industry.
JS: What decisive choices enabled the shift from pilot concepts to continuous, industrial-scale, chemical-free processing?
Dixie Carter: Our most decisive choice was to invest early in true industrial-scale infrastructure—not to prove the concept, but to prove the capacity. We built a facility designed for continuous, high-volume, mechanical decortication and cottonization of hemp fiber, eliminating the need for water and chemicals. This required adapting proven technologies from adjacent industries and engineering them to create textile-grade hemp. We also made a conscious decision to power our operations with renewable energy and design for zero waste—ensuring that every part of the plant has a commercial use.
JS: Which commercialization hurdles with brands and mills have been most challenging, and how are you de-risking scale-up?
Dixie Carter: Any time a new natural fiber enters the global supply chain, the biggest challenge is consistency—mills and brands need to trust that the fiber will be reliable and will perform the same way every time. Our focus has been on de-risking that transition by producing cottonized hemp fiber that runs seamlessly on existing spinning systems. We’ve partnered closely with leading mills to conduct extensive spinning trials, optimize blending ratios, and verify quality at scale. By delivering both performance data and a reliable domestic supply chain, we’re helping brands adopt hemp with confidence.
JS: What KPIs and controls are most critical to delivering consistent fiber quality at high throughput, and what feedback are you hearing from mill partners?
Dixie Carter: Consistent, well-retted feedstock is the key to both high quality fiber and high throughput. Our second-year farming practices have significantly improved the quality of our hemp feedstock this year, producing the finest textile-grade fiber we’ve seen to date.
JS: What data within your traceability program do downstream partners value most, and how are you using it to build trust?
Dixie Carter: Downstream partners value the origin, processing, and quality assurance data that confirm our fiber’s traceability from U.S. farms to finished bales of processed hemp. We provide verified documentation showing where and how the hemp was grown, processed, and certified—including batch-level fiber characteristics and sustainability metrics. This transparency gives brands and mills confidence in both the environmental integrity and performance consistency of our product.
JS: Can you quantify the environmental gains of your zero-water, chemical-free process and explain how you validate zero-waste utilization across coproduct streams?
Dixie Carter: Our environmental mission was clear from the start: prove that scale and sustainability can coexist. By operating a zero-water, chemical-free, and zero-waste facility, we’ve demonstrated that high-volume textile fiber production doesn’t have to come at an environmental cost. At full capacity, the CO2 conversion associated with our hemp supply is equivalent to taking 60,000 cars off the road annually. Our closed-loop system transforms every component of the hemp plant into value—from long fiber for textiles to cellulose-rich hurd for industrial applications and micronized by-products for countless uses. Through continuous data tracking and partner validation, we’re not just minimizing impact—we’re creating a regenerative production model that defines what responsible manufacturing should look like.
JS: How are you organizing R&D to improve fiber performance, spinning compatibility, and potential dyeing/finishing pathways?
Dixie Carter: Panda has collaborated closely with multiple mills to refine our hemp fiber to ensure optimal spinning performance. Feedback from these mill trials has guided ongoing improvements in our decortication and cottonization techniques, resulting in a cleaner, softer, and more consistent fiber. The superior feedstock from more experienced farming practices has also enabled improved quality and spinning compatibility.
JS: In what ways can Panda Biotech’s model support nearshoring/reshoring and reshape US-based textile sourcing?
Dixie Carter: Panda Biotech’s model directly supports nearshoring and reshoring by rebuilding the critical “missing middle” of the U.S. textile supply chain—the processing infrastructure that converts raw hemp fiber into mill-ready inputs. By producing industrial-scale, cottonized hemp fiber domestically, Panda Biotech provides U.S. and nearshore mills with a sustainable, regionally available raw material engineered for compatibility with existing cotton spinning systems. This enables immediate integration into current equipment without the need for major capital investment or process retooling.
Our vertically integrated supply model—linking American farmers, hemp fiber processing, and downstream textile manufacturing—shortens lead times, reduces carbon emissions associated with global transport, and enhances supply chain resilience. In essence, Panda Biotech’s model transforms U.S.-grown hemp into a strategic raw material that underpins a modern, circular, and secure domestic textile ecosystem.
JS: What concrete milestones—capacity, certifications, multi-mill qualifications—should stakeholders expect in the next year?
Dixie Carter: Panda Biotech will focus on operational scaling, quality assurance validation, and multi-mill integration—across denim and knits—to solidify our position as the leading producer of industrial hemp fiber in the Western Hemisphere. We will also continue to seek certifications beyond our current USDA BioPreferred designation and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification.
JS: Dixie, thank you for the clear view into Panda Biotech’s scale-up, quality controls, and mill partnerships, and how they’re enabling denim and knits adoption. We’ll be tracking the next wave of certifications, multi-mill qualifications, and capacity milestones as indicators of hemp’s move into the mainstream U.S. supply base.
