What does this brand sell?
Hemper was founded in 2015 after a group of six young adults was inspired while traveling through Nepal. The brand not only aims to highlight the great potential of hemp as a sustainable alternative for the fashion industry, but also commits to help undeveloped communities in the outskirts of Kathmandu, where their products are made. They value a product chain that generates a positive impact for all agents involved, and secondly value transparency. Everything there is to know about their materials and products can be found in their impact report, and they scored a 0.5 for transparency for their BCORP certification.
Through their creativity they want to inspire a whole generation to be more responsable and more sensitive in their way of consumption.
No information has been found on the achieved sustainable milestones
They aim to optimise the space their products take up on the flights for transportation from Nepal, and are looking into ways to transport their goods more sustainably.
Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) Spain in 2018
Co-founder Gloria Gubianas won “Spain Woman Entrepreneur of the year 2019″ and ‘The Nova 111 List 2021”
There is no physical shop available
There is no physical shop available
The packaging is made from discarded rice bags collected from the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal.
1% for the Planet, meaning they donate 1% of their gross sales
The packaging is made from discarded rice bags collected from the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal.
1% for the Planet, meaning they donate 1% of their gross sales
Cotton: India
Hemp: Nepal
Natural dyes: Nepal
India and Nepal
Backpack = EUR 115.00
Waist Bag = EUR 59.00
Hemp is a great plant as it has a high carbon absorption capacity. Compared to conventional methods, they emit 45% less carbon.
CO2 emissions have been calculated for each product, for example: The Kala Backpack emits 12.92kg of CO2, the Monsoon hats 22.51kg and the t-shirts 23.30kg. The average lies around 15kg per product.
No information on this is provided by the brand.
Hemp uses 57% less water compared to conventional materials like polyester, as it uses rainwater only to grow and uses 250% more fiber than cotton.
To produce the hemp-based products, around 42% of water is saved. A t-shirt for example only uses 684L and the Kala backpack 42L, compared to around 2700 L needed for a t-shirt from cotton.
Hemp has regenerative capacities in which it enriches soils and maintains ecosystems. The hemp is grown wild in the Himalaysa, and is not artificially cultivated. This means that they have to take care of the environment by following the sustainable traditions that their partners have been practising for a long time
Hemper aims to minimise waste from the packaging by using old rice bags to upcycle them into new packaging for their products, and afterwards, they can be used as bags.
Regarding the waste created per product, this can be found in the sustainability analysis per product. For example, a total of 0.04kg of waste was created for one Kala Backpack, with an average of 0.7 kg of waste per product.
Moreover, hemp is 100% compostable and therefore minimises the waste produced by the fashion industry.
Lastly, labels, tags and flyers are made from untreated materials that are compostable, such as lokta (bark that is sustainably harvested), and reused cotton from the Spanish company Sheedo containing a seed to it can be planted after use.
Compared to conventional materials, the Kala Backpack saves 39% of toxins (PO4 toxins). No pesticides or fertilizers are needed to grow hemp, just soil, and rain. Moreover, the products are naturally dyed using fruits, peels, minerals, roots, and plants.
One of the goals of Hemper is to boost autonomy and social and economic development in Nepal. They have close relationships with their partners and regularly visit the hemp artisans. The natural dying process performed by Nepali female experts is a certified Fair Trade production.
In 2022, Hemper released their sustainability report which outlines their impacts compared to industry standards, the benefits of hemp, and a detailed overview per product including e.g. how much water is used, how much carbon is emitted, and how much waste is generated.