Is Hanes going Hemp? After toiling for nearly a decade to shake hemp’s burlap-sack connotations—and prove that the fiber is a viable replacement for cotton—Naturally Advanced Technologies (née Hemptown) may finally have its day.

The Portland, Ore.-based company, according to Portfolio.com, has announced a series of deals primed to commercialize its Crailar Fiber Technology, an enzyme-based treatment for processing hemp and other organic fibers into pillowy smooth fabric. Among some of the bold-faced names being uttered? Hanes, one of the world’s largest consumer brands, which posted $4.2 billion in sales in 2008.

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