The Hemp Store

Vegan Hemp Skincare & Hair Care

Welcome to The Hemp Store

We are pleased to announce that our Bath & Body Range has official organic accreditation from the Organic Food Federation (non-food) and is registered with The Vegan Society so you can be sure they are super good and vegan friendly.

A brief history of The Hemp Store

Jonathan and Lisa grew a crop of Industrial Hemp on the family farm in Suffolk back in the 1990’s.

It opened our eyes as to the fantastic potential of the hemp plant – surely one of nature’s great gifts. We watched as the tiny seed germinated within days, and then, just 100 days later, was a beautiful tall plant (over 2 meters) swaying in the Fenland winds – all on very poor and thin Breckland soil that struggled to support the more usual East Anglian crops of barley, wheat, potatoes and sugar beet without large inputs of fertilisers, pesticides and irrigating water – expensive on the pocket and of course expensive to the environment.

We also discovered the huge variety of uses for the hemp plant – fabric to make clothes and bags, seeds to make nutritious oil, well being food, bath, body and soaps to nourish and moisturise the skin, paper, bio fuel, building material and on and on!

Unbeknown to us at the time this crop would to shape the next phase of their lives.

The journey began when we left the farm in 1999 and set up The Hemp Store. We started on Cambridge Market (where will still trade on Sundays) with a determination to not only offer products made from eco friendly sources but that were also quality products – well made, sustainable, fairly traded and sourced and different. Today our mission remains the same.

Over the last 20 years we have met an array of wonderful characters – many who became firm friends – Udaya and Rosie Thapa from Nepal, Vidhi and Aichin Brorson from Denmark – the founders of Hemp Valley, John and Rachel of Thought Clothing, Gavin and Ash at THTC, and Amit and his family makers of the wonderful hemp Sativa Bags.

More recently it has worked the other way around.
We have been friends with Tom for over 15 years. Tom is the finest of professional soap-makers.
With our passion for all things hemp and Tom’s brilliant and innovative skills in formulating and making all manner of soaps, balms and creams, the seeds were sown for our own locally made hemp bath, body and soaps range.

In 2018 we achieved official organic recognition for all the organic ingredients used in our range by the Organic Food Federation (non-food). This means that our customers can be assured that all our organic ingredients are fully certified (not a requirement for cosmetic manufacturers (yet) but something we thought was important). We also achieved registration with The Vegan Society following their own thorough audit of all our ingredients – this means that vegans can buy with full confidence knowing that all our products that carry The Vegan Society logo are 100% vegan friendly.

We remain a small family business still following our initial vision to offer sustainable, eco friendly and quality goods to be savoured and enjoyed by all those with a passion and a care for our planet.

About Hemp

Hemp doesn’t cost the Earth….the remarkable story of the ever giving Hemp plant.

Hemp can grow without pesticides and herbicides. Columbus sailed to the “New World” in ships with hemp sails and rigged with hemp rope. The original Levi jeans were made with hemp fabric. A hemp crop is ready to harvest in only 100 days

The first draft of the American Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. During the reign of Elizabeth 1st all landowners were required to grow a hemp crop or face a fine. It was essential for the naval fleet in its defense of the realm. Hemp Seed Oil is the most balanced nutritional oil.

Betty Ross made the first American flag with hemp canvas. For paper production – one acre of hemp provides the equivalent of four acres of trees. 25% of the world’s agro-chemicals drench the cotton crop. Henry Ford built a car out of hemp.

Old hemp rope was recycled to make early bank notes…“money for/from old rope”.Early editions of the King James Bible were printed on hemp paper. The Hemp Store offered the first 100% hemp Frisbees!!! In 1993 hemp is grown again in the UK for the first time in 70 years.

Modern car manufactures incorporate hemp in car parts. Hemp is the strongest natural fibre. In the 19th century 80% of all the world’s fabric was sourced from hemp. Rembrandt and Van Gogh used hemp canvas and hemp base paints. Using 55% hemp in a t-shirt instead of 100% cotton saves over 100 gallons of water