HempAge

Hem­pA­ges clot­hing is not only sus­tainable but also ethi­cal. The brand has been a mem­ber of the Fair Wear Foun­da­ti­on (FWF) sin­ce 2009, achie­ving lea­ders sta­tus. Fair Wear Foun­da­ti­on is an orga­ni­sa­ti­on that moni­tors and asses­ses working con­di­ti­ons at fac­to­ry sites. In addi­ti­on, Hem­pA­ge is also a mem­ber of the Ger­man fede­ra­ti­on for fair sourcing, Fair Band.

Some 90% of the coll­ec­tion is made by two pro­duc­tion part­ners in Chi­na. The remai­ning 10% is made in Tuni­sia, Ger­ma­ny, Hun­ga­ry and Tur­key. All the­se pro­du­cers were audi­ted by FWF to make sure they meet the strict social stan­dards. In addi­ti­on, the­se pro­du­cers also hold the GOTS cer­ti­fi­ca­te, which also checks for ethi­cal conditions. 

On top of that, Hem­pA­ge regu­lar­ly visits pro­duc­tion sites in Chi­na. In this way, the brand main­ta­ins a direct and per­so­nal rela­ti­onship with the far­mers and pro­du­cers. This faci­li­ta­tes com­mu­ni­ca­ti­on and ensu­res that the brand has more con­trol over the pro­duc­tion pro­ces­ses and the qua­li­ty of the clothes.

The most com­mon­ly used mate­ri­al in the coll­ec­tion is of cour­se hemp. Hemp is a sus­tainable plant becau­se gro­wing it requi­res litt­le irri­ga­ti­on water or che­mi­cal pesti­ci­des. The plant is resistant to dif­fe­rent cli­ma­tes and can the­r­e­fo­re be grown in many places. No che­mi­cals are nee­ded during the tex­ti­le pro­duc­tion pro­cess eit­her becau­se the pro­ces­sing is main­ly mecha­ni­cal. At Hem­pA­ge, part of the pro­cess is even done by hand, saving ener­gy as well. Dis­co­ver the COSH! Blog about the pros and cons of hemp textiles.

To give the clo­thes a sof­ter touch, Hem­pA­ge com­bi­nes the hemp withorga­nic cot­ton. Thanks to the cot­ton, the tex­ti­le is less stiff and the­r­e­fo­re more plea­sant to wear, for exam­p­le as a T‑shirt. The cot­ton is always cer­ti­fied by Glo­bal Orga­nic Tex­ti­le Stan­dard (GOTS). This orga­ni­sa­ti­on checks the pro­duc­tion for use of che­mi­cals and ethi­cal working conditions.

Despi­te hemp nee­ding very few che­mi­cals, che­mi­cals are still some­ti­mes used. The­r­e­fo­re, hemp can also obtain a GOTS cer­ti­fi­ca­te. Hem­pA­ge deli­bera­te­ly choo­ses not to do so, as the brand belie­ves the expen­si­ve cer­ti­fi­ca­ti­on pro­cess is unneces­sa­ry within hemp pro­duc­tion. The brand works with very small-sca­le Chi­ne­se hemp gro­wers for whom it is pro­hi­bi­tively expen­si­ve to get each cer­ti­fied. Apart from that, the brand belie­ves that lar­ge-sca­le, orga­nic, hemp pro­duc­tion has a bad eco­lo­gi­cal impact in other aspects. To ensu­re the hemp is grown wit­hout che­mi­cal pesti­ci­des, Hem­pA­ge visits far­mers seve­ral times a year.

Final­ly, all other sup­pli­es for finis­hing the clo­thes are cer­ti­fied by OEKO-Tex Stan­dard 100, which means that the zips, yarns, but­tons, etc. do not con­tain harmful che­mi­cals and are the­r­e­fo­re safe for skin contact.

Hem­pa­ge is a cir­cu­lar brand becau­se only natu­ral mate­ri­als are used in its clo­thes. Becau­se the brand uses orga­nic cot­ton, wool and hemp wit­hout che­mi­cals, the clo­thes are easi­ly recy­clable and even biode­gra­da­ble. Howe­ver, haber­da­shery such as zips or but­tons must be taken into account.

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, Hem­pA­ge does not have a short sup­p­ly chain. Becau­se the Ger­man brand works with Indi­an and Chi­ne­se pro­du­cers, the clo­thes tra­vel a long distance to be sold in Europe.

Hem­pA­ge does ensu­re that all cont­act with its pro­duc­tion part­ners is direct and not through inter­me­dia­ries. This way, the brand keeps more con­trol over the pro­duc­tion pro­cess and the qua­li­ty of the clothes.

Much of the coll­ec­tion is vegan. The clo­thes are made of plant-based mate­ri­als that are grown sustainably.

Yet the­re are also seve­ral garm­ents that are part­ly made of wool. Espe­ci­al­ly in the win­ter coll­ec­tion, Hem­pA­ge uses meri­no wool to make warm and soft garm­ents. To take care of ani­mal wel­fa­re, the clot­hing brand only uses mule­sing-free wool. Mule­sing is an ani­mal-unfri­end­ly prac­ti­ce in which skin from the sheep is cut away (often unan­aes­the­ti­sed) to pre­vent para­si­te infections.

Hem­pA­ge makes tim­e­l­ess clot­hing and basics for men and women. Bes­i­des a win­ter and sum­mer coll­ec­tion, the brand also has a ran­ge of yoga clot­hing. Ide­al for exer­cis­ing in a sus­tainable work-out outfit!

The Ger­man brand designs accor­ding to slow-fashion prin­ci­ples. The brand releases only 2 coll­ec­tions a year, of which seve­ral designs remain year-round. This way, Hem­pA­ge ensu­res that their pro­duc­tion part­ners have time to pro­du­ce the clothes.

Due to its cer­ti­fi­ca­ti­on by the Fair Wear Foun­da­ti­on, the brand scores well on trans­pa­ren­cy, alt­hough they don’t share the names of their pro­duc­tion part­ners. To impro­ve their trans­pa­ren­cy, the brand also works with a trans­pa­ren­cy tool to pro­vi­de their clot­hing labels with all pro­duc­tion information.