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Our Values
We believe that every single person has the ability to make a difference to the health of our planet and the wellbeing of humankind. Through every choice that we make in life, we are influencing the world around us and these decisions should as far as possible be consciously ethical, sustainable and environmentally friendly. Although in recent years the human race is making great strides towards a more sustainable and ethical future for all, we still have a lot of work to do to clean up this planet and it starts with our individual decisions.
Here at The Hemp Shop we always strive for the highest ethical and sustainable standards as a company. We’re passionate about helping the environment, ensuring good quality of life for workers, and improving this planet we call home for the benefit of everyone. That is our driving force, what gets us out of bed in the morning and what inspires us to spread knowledge of the industrial hemp plant and its benefits for the planet!
It's All For The Love of Hemp!
This planet-healing, health-giving, wonderful plant has so many astounding environmental benefits that just keep on giving back to mother nature, we could talk about them all day! Instead, here's a very brief overview of some of the reasons that we love hemp so much, and why we believe that the greatest thing that we can all do for the planet right now is to switch to using hemp!
HEMP IS THE BEST PLANT FOR ABSORBING CO2
It is estimated that one hectare of hemp plants absorb 22 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere in a year. The CO2 is converted into carbon, making hemp the greatest converter of CO2 to biomass on Earth! If we increase demand for hemp products then we will see more hemp being planted, resulting in more CO2 being removed from the atmosphere. There is a lot of talk of planting trees to help with offsetting CO2 emissions, but planting hemp absorbs a lot more CO2 in a lot shorter time than any other plant, crop or forest on our planet!
HEMP REQUIRES LITTLE WATER TO GROW
Hemp requires around 80% less water than cotton to grow the same amount of fibre to make 1kg of fabric. In choosing hemp over cotton, we will potentially be saving millions of litres of water each year. This in turn means that there is less soil erosion, as the huge amounts of water used in cotton production, unfortunately, wash away the precious topsoil at an alarming rate. The top 5-10 inches of soil is where the majority of microorganisms exist and where most of the bio-activity happens, no bio-activity means that nothing will grow in that soil, so losing so much of it to erosion is a serious problem.
HEMP REQUIRES NO CHEMICALS TO GROW
Hemp grows organically almost anywhere on the planet, and it thrives in situations where other crops struggle to survive. It is a weed after all. No pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilisers are required for hemp to grow tall and strong. Every organic hemp plant that is grown instead of a more intensively farmed alternative is a step towards less pollution in the environment. If no chemicals are being used, then they cannot make their way into waterways, into the soil and into the food chain causing extensive damage to ecosystems and human health. This is a problem with other crops such as cotton, which hemp can easily replace.
HEMP IMPROVES SOIL QUALITY
Hemp has a deep tap root system that draws up nutrients and water from deep underground where other crops do not reach. The root system prevents soil compaction by breaking up the soil as it grows down into the ground. It also helps prevent soil erosion. Hemp has the ability to remove toxins from the soil through a process known as phytoremediation. All that is required for premium quality soil is that around 1 foot of the stalk and the entire root system is left in the ground after harvesting. This returns valuable nutrients to the soil so that any crops that come after can gain the maximum benefits from the good work of the hemp plant. Hemp grows to its full height in only 4 months, which makes it a great choice for crop rotation farming.
HEMP REQUIRES LESS LAND TO GROW
When compared to growing other crops such as trees for paper, cotton for clothing or soya for food, hemp requires far less land to grow the same amount of materials required to make the end-product. This reduction in land usage means that more space is available for other crops, or for rewilding to allow biodiversity to thrive.
HEMP IS GREAT FOR OUR HEALTH
Hemp seed is the superfood, it is nature's greatest single source of vegetable nutrition and comes with many benefits for our health! With its high levels of Omega oils, vitamins and minerals it's truly wonderful for our health. When used in bodycare and beauty products hemp has wide-ranging benefits for our skin and hair. Hemp fabrics make long-lasting breathable, thermodynamic and antibacterial clothing, promoting good skin health and hygiene. CBD and hemp essential oil are known for their benefits to our mental health and wellbeing. The list goes on!
Our Company Values and Practices
Our motto is "Ethical, Sustainable, Ecological" and if a product does not fit that description, then we do not stock it at The Hemp Shop.
SUSTAINABLE
PRACTICES
Sustainability is at the very core of our set of values. The whole reason we exist is to promote what we believe to be the greatest sustainable solution for the health of our planet; hemp! We do our very best to remain carbon neutral, and the fact that hemp itself is nature’s greatest carbon sink really helps us on this front, we are in fact, carbon neutral+++. Hemp absorbs more CO2 than any other crop or forest, so it sets us off to a great start. We are committed to reducing waste and energy consumption at every opportunity. We re-use everything that we can, most materials can be used twice or re-purposed and we throw away less than 2kg of waste per week, so as little as possible.
CARE FOR
THE ENVIRONMENT
We care about the environment, it's another driving force behind our business. We want everyone to move to a more environmentally friendly way of thinking, changing attitudes and moving towards more ecological version of consumerism. In-house we keep our practices as eco-friendly as possible. We reuse all packaging that comes into our building and reduce waste at every opportunity. We choose natural biodegradable materials wherever possible and use carbon-conscious delivery providers where possible. Over the years we've also supported countless charity initiatives that contribute to the health of our planet, wildlife, forests and more.
ETHICAL
STANDARDS
Everything about hemp is ethical. When you choose hemp, you're choosing an ethical alternative to cotton, to wood pulp for paper, to plastic, oil or any of the thousands of other uses of the hemp plant. The incredible environmental benefits of hemp over almost any other material mean that it is always the ethical choice. Since our origins in 1995 we have pushed for good working conditions in our production and supply chains. We ask our suppliers to provide assurance that their production facilities and supply chains are adhering to environmental standards, fair working conditions, fair wages and ethical treatment of workers as far as is reasonably possible.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
We recycle and reuse any packaging that comes to us from suppliers, and if we’re sending out your order in a cardboard box, you can bet that box has been used before.
Minimal Plastic
We keep plastic packaging to an absolute minimum and prefer natural cellulose bags over plastic bags. The tape we use is either paper tape, or natural cellulose tape – all sustainable and biodegradable
Energy Usage
We use a green energy supplier for our electricity, we use an energy-efficient one-cup kettle in our break room, have hemp insulation in the roof and use low energy consumption LED lights wherever we can.
Delivery Providers
When it comes to delivering your parcels, we’re careful who we choose to fulfill your order in the most environmentally friendly way.
Our Responsibilities
From farm to finished product, we require assurance that supply chains have fair wages, ethical working conditions, environmentally sound practices and are a positive force in this world.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
We recycle and reuse any packaging that comes to us from suppliers, and if we’re sending out your order in a cardboard box, you can bet that box has been used before.
Delivery Providers
When it comes to delivering your parcels, we’re careful who we choose to fulfill your order in the most environmentally friendly way.
Our Reponsibilities
From farm to finished product, we check supply chains have fair wages, ethical working conditions, environmentally sound practices and are a positive force in this world.
Minimal Plastic
We keep plastic packaging to an absolute minimum, and prefer natural cellulose bags over plastic bags. The tape we use is either paper tape, or natural cellulose tape.
Energy Usage
We use a green energy supplier for our electricity, we use an energy efficient one-cup kettle in our break room and use low energy consumption LED lights wherever we can.