Industrial hemp is indigenous to the mountain regions of Uttarakhand and an important source of livelihood for the villagers who are primarily farmers. Since 2016, AKF has worked towards promoting the interests of farmers, utilising the true potential of industrial hemp and encouraging social welfare activities in the hilly regions by supporting handloom and handicraft industries.
Through AKF, many women artisans are employed who are trained in developing handloom textiles using hemp, thereby creating livelihood opportunities for them. This has not only benefitted the entire value chain economically in the region but has also had a positive impact on the people's health and the environment, considering hemp's cultivation requires little water and no pesticides to grow.
Making of handloom fabrics takes time, effort and patience. Different regions have different weaving techniques that are passed down through generations. It is safe to say that handloom fabrics follow the ethos of slow fashion where the focus is on making high-quality products using sustainable materials. Our handloom fabrics made from hemp are organic and durable with applications across apparel, upholstery, home decor, and accessories, and come in blends like organic cotton, wool, and nettle.
]]>Circular Design Challenge is a platform that was created to give upcoming sustainable brands and fashion entrepreneurs a voice and strong visibility to showcase their talents.
Launched in collaboration with Fashion for Earth by R|Elan™, UN Environment and Lakmè Fashion Week, it is one of India’s first and largest sustainable fashion challenges in the fashion, textiles and apparel industry.
The selection procedure is rigorous and only one winner is awarded a cash prize to kickstart their sustainable journey and take it to the next level.
On 31st Jan 2019, two of the CDC finalists used our fabrics and scraps to design their collection. It was a momentous occasion as the Indian fashion industry got a glimpse of hemp on one of the most prestigious platforms.
SEERAT VIRDI
A fashion designer from Ludhiana and founder of the brand Miesu, Seerat Virdi has a long-standing association with sustainable fashion. Having been a finalist at the Redress Fashion Award in Hong Kong, one of the largest platforms for sustainable designers, she is not unfamiliar with the concept and is well-known for upcycling and reusing wasted fabrics to create stunning designs that can be worn from day to night. For her CDC collection, Seerat used our 100% hemp woven fabric which was embroidered with Phulkari, an old Indian embroidery technique that’s native to the northern state of Punjab.
BHAVYA GOENKA
As a founder of zero-waste label Iro Iro, Bhavya primarily works with leftover cotton, linen, and denim. She also uses Aakh—an indigenous fiber from Rajasthan, which does not require water to grow and works with natural dyes like Indigo and Kashish that are created by artisans of Bagru, Rajasthan. Since the inception of her brand, Iro Iro has upcycled 1,500 kgs of scrap and supported 8 weaver families. At CDC, Bhavya took some of our leftover hemp fabric scraps and beautifully upcycled them in her collection.
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The outcome was incredible: Not only did we manage to mentor young, creative minds and educate them about the subject of sustainability, the students also got a first-hand industry experience.
The LIVE project aims to close the gap between university training and real-life challenges that students sometimes face right after graduation.
]]>The program is focused on bringing together various stakeholders which include entrepreneurs, students, universities and corporate organizations, to work on solving problems that are aligned with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals.
On December 2018, Hemp Fabric Lab became a part of the S.T.E.A.M School project and mentored young women from across the globe on the benefits of using hemp. It was an interactive session where the participants were challenged to come up with solutions to real-life problems and reduce wastage. They were also taught about having a strong value proposition and marketing strategies to promote their ideas.
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