My goal is to avoid that worst case scenario. I truly believe in the spirit of the cannabis industry. Employers, once made aware of the unavoidable risks on their work environments will do the right thing and protect their employees. I would never want to force my products on anyone (goes against my belief in the free market), but those who understand what we are talking about and care about their employees and their business will make the right decisions.
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Also following up on my previous questions - what can lighting manufacturers to do properly communicate the risks associated with various spectrum settings and light levels in horticultural lighting?
I’d be really interested in finding a way to calculate and communicate a metric relevant to the risk factor based on the spectrum and intensity setting
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Great questions.
Yes, we have all our fabrics tested by and independent 3rd party. All fabrics are tested in accordance with the American Association of Textile Chemist and Colorist (AATCC). All our fabrics are tested above UPF50, which is the highest rating a fabric can have, which essentially eliminates 98% of the UV spectrum. In regards to Visible and IR spectrum, there is no threshold number established with OSHA, so we don’t have an exact baseline. But we tested our fabrics against your average consumer cotton shirt, and we saw a dramatic decrease is the pass through rates, over 5 times more effective at reducing light radiation.
I can’t find the link right now, but in our “Light Spectrum” section, we sourced info regarding risks from the 400nm-1400nm range
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Here’s the link directly to the Light Spectrum on the UVPPE site, for those who want to read more:
http://uvppe.com/the-numbers/
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AMAZING question!!!
Really it begins with recognizing the inherent risk in light radiation. Again, this is a very new concept. Manufacturers are so focused on PAR and maximizing PPF/PPFD, that they have really failed to recognize what that does to the human body. Granted, I LOVE the light technology being produced and what it means for the industry. I am not anti light company in any way. But when we create this technology, we have to understand the risks involved
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Unfortunately, not to my knowledge. Literally, almost every time I explain to people what I am doing and why, they are hearing it for the first time. Luckily, everyone, once hearing the issue, almost immediately understand the concern and what to protect their team. As this idea gets more and more understood, and the risks of the industry are more understood, regulations will surely follow rapidly.
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What are the economic savings and return on investment for your clothing and covers. How can we justify this to grow operations? And what do they need to think about $$$ wise?
(Obviously not taking into account social responsibility to the health of employees)
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Sounds like there might be some good partnership opportunities with PPE vendors and light manufacturers. Not only is it doing the right thing for the industry, but it could protect lighting manufacturers from potential future lawsuits. People tend to go after the deep pockets when looking for someone to sue. The grow op owner isn’t going to have the insurance coverage and capital to be worth going after, and might not even still be in business by the time the effects become known. If the lighting manufacturers have made clear the risks and recommendations for growers to protect themselves, that could serve as protection against liability.
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Well that is also a scary fact…most operations have insufficient insurance and would crumble under the weight of any serious litigation.
Not to mention the ripple effect that would have on the industry as a whole. This will be the most scrutinized industry ever, and people are looking for reasons to say no to cannabis. An issue like this could be a death nail to states trying to legalize.
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Yes, removing the social and moral reason, the cost is minimal in comparison to the risks. We are actually in negotiations with several insurance companies to begin offering discounts on yearly premiums for carrying our products, which would wash most of the product cost.
As for owners, this cost is easily written off from their taxes, so the real cost is to the owners on what they feel is an acceptable liability risk to have.
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Once you do figure out the discounts with insurance companies, please let us know who those insurance companies are so that the community can take advantage of those discounts.
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I have a great relationship with SugarLeaf and AlphRoot. Both amazing companies doing great things and both really understand the concepts behind our goals and mission.
But as I have concrete numbers, I will happily share.
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Will you be at any upcoming tradeshows this year, so that community members can check out your products in person?
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Yes, I will be attending the MJ Biz Con in Vegas next month. Being from Vegas, I have great friends up there so I won’t have a booth dedicated to UVPPE, but will be there all week. I will have plenty of samples there for people to see. Also, if anyone is ever interested, I can send them a swatch sample of our fabrics so they can get a better understanding of our products and why there is nothing like them available on the market.
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Ok we’re about at time for this event. Thank you Daniel for answering all of our questions and thank you to the community for participating!
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Thank you so much for having me and letting me share what we are doing.
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Use preventives to the problem lotions and blocks also a healthy dose of Rick Simpson oil would be a preventive.
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Yes…something is always better than nothing for sure. The ACS (American Cancer Society) doesn’t recommend using lotions or sunscreens as your “first defense”, but just adding them into your sun protection plan. Sunscreens act merely as a filter. Broad spectrum lotions are the best for filtering both UVA and UVB, but the human error associated with sunscreen is staggering. People usually do not apply enough so those who commonly use sunscreen have inaccurate expectations of their protection level and do not re-apply consistently/effectively.
But to your point…ABSOLUTELY YES…any preventative measure is better than nothing.
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Speaking of which, I’ve heard some theories that THC evolved as a chemical defense against solar radiation. It’s such a complex molecule that it has to have a purpose for the plant.
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There are many examples that show increased UV levels introduced into the grow process affect THC levels. It’s really interesting to research. I imagine, as lights get more complex and more data is collected, growers (specifically indoor) will take huge leaps forward in their ability to craft cannabis. It’s really an exciting time to see the industry and technology working together.
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