A Foreword

 

At this moment, life on Earth is in crisis. We are living in a vulnerable, deeply despairing and unnervingly exciting time. We are collectively diving headfirst into the unknown, unstable and unsure waters of a future we are quickly losing all control of. We cannot ignore it, we cannot avoid it. We must face the chaos with strength in our conviction and courage in our hearts.

 

The time of cheap profit and selfish gains is at an end.

 

We each have the burden and the gift of living at such a moment, where every purchase we make creates new patterns of profound and powerful ‘trends’ that will, in effect, turn the tides. Our consumer choices are the greatest stand we can make as guardians of the earth. More potent than our political choices, is the financial support we give to corporations who misrepresent our values. These are the veins of our systems and we are the blood. Fate, is as much in our hands as it is in our pockets.

 

It is our sacred responsibility to create consciously, buy consciously and live consciously.

 

In these changing times, more than ever, we must learn from Natures time immemorial intelligence. Nature, after all, is the embodied wisdom of change. The wild earth is the most intelligent system designed to maintain the ecosystem for all life to be sustained upon our precious planet. We must therefore, work with Nature, to remedy the ruin and reclaim (an interspecies) quality of life.



“If we surrendered to the earth’s intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

 


Hemp is a hero of this story. This powerful ally is here to re-calibrate the scales between profitable business and sustainable practice. There is no longer, in our minds, any excuse to deny sustainable practice as a chief value in all business actions.

 

The fundamental goal of the Hemp Temple is to be of service to our earth, our people, our neighbouring species and ourselves. We aspire to operate as clean as possible. Meaning, at each point in our production we are continually working to minimise our footprint by reducing our use of natural resources, including our use of plastic, dyes, electricity, land and water. This is a goal we strive to achieve, yet it is a process that is capped by the development of our own capabilities, resources and timelines.

 

Our vision is to give back (to community, culture & environment) more than we take away. We recognise the weight of this vision and our limitations in our current world systems and yet, in the words of Einstein: “once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”

 

Each step we take towards sustainability is deeply rooted in an ethos of integrated values. Our vision towards a balanced climate and culture in business, does not clock off when the workers do. We live our values and vision both within and outside of the framework of business. We are deeply connected to our surrounds and know ourselves to be interwoven in the fabric of all existence, we feel it is our duty to protect life on Earth.

 

Hemp is a Revolution in its own right.

 

With wild potential, this crop grows in natural abundance and harbours an incredible diversity of pragmatic and widespread purpose in just about every industry. Not only can hemp be used to create plastics, oils, housing, food, paper, medicine, personal hygiene and textiles; it is a crop that rejuvenates the soil. It is designed to be farmed and used in abundance; meaning we do not need to go backwards but forwards.

 

“…most of the damage we cause to the planet is the result of our own ignorance.”




 

In the words of Patagonia, “To show who you are, you have to know who you are. To know who you are forces your organization to “live an examined life”.

 

Just as in nature, our business is held together by a delicate fabric, a diverse and complex ecology of environmental, social, profitable and psychological values. To maintain integrity and growth; we are constantly re-evaluating, re-prioritising and reorganizing our framework of business.

 

The Hemp Temple exists to challenge conventional short-term profit focused actions of the fashion industry that champion sexual exploitation, environmental degradation, inhumane production, secrecy and fractured values that perpetuate eating disorders, body hate and psychological damage. Our intention is to lead, with humility and integrity, as an example of responsible business.

 

We believe in the power of Hemp as a living agent of change and the embodiment of hope in sight of the rejuvenation and stabilisation of our environments, our global communities and within ourselves. Hemp is an emissary to enhance the quality of the human experience, empowering the people as activists in day to day life.

 

SEED

Our process begins in the seeds. Grown in the Himalayan soils of Bihar, India. With a timeless history of wild hemp farming, hemp has remained a staple crop for the communities in these regions for quite some time.

 

WEAVE

Harvested, the stalk fibre is then sent to the local villages and hand woven into our fabric; an organic hemp and organic cotton blends. The organic cotton is grown is grown in the same regions and in the same manner, preserving the traditional textiles and community farming as hemp.

 

SEW

Our fabric is dyed and sewn in Pushkar, India. Overseen by our dear friend and manager, Mr Jain. 

The fabric is then sewn into our designs by our family of five tailors. Conditions are safe and clean with natural light. All extra fabrics, fixings, buttons and labels are sourced from small local shop owners. 

 

SEND

The garments are then packaged in hemp and biodegradable post bags. 

 Meet Your Makers.

 

 India