Green Girl

Check out the green-friendly goodies at Down2Earth Designs. From hemp handbags to high fashion, Down2Earth Designs has a lot of fun and funky goods for the eco-conscious. We interviewed the designer recently about her hemp-happy products, and here’s what we found out!

1. When did you get started designing with hemp? What was your inspiration?

I started learning about hemp in my last year of high school, and was amazed by all of the environmental and personal health benefits that it offers. Reading more and more, I began to realize the injustice that the hemp industry has suffered because of its relationship with marijuana. Because of technology advances, it is now possible to grow the male and female strains separately, thus hemp can be grown free of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Hemp has only been legal in Canada since 1998, so the industry is in need of some attention. I grew up learning to sew from my mother, and I have a real creative side as well as an intense appreciation for beauty. I first came into contact with hemp fabric at my local market, in the form of an 80% hemp 20% silk jaquard. It blew me away. When I realized that I could combine those two passions, sparks flew, and I’ve been tending to the fire ever since.

2. I see from your Etsy page that you have a pretty grand vision for how you’d like to live your life eventually, including developing a sustainable community of your own. How do you envision making it work, and what role does Down 2 Earth Designs play in bringing about that future?

It’s going to take a lot of communication and finding people with the same fire and passion for making something happen. Working together on a project of this scale requires that those involved are aware of their skills, what role it is that they would like to play, where they would like to be, and how we can incorporate that into the plan. There are a lot of ideas and opportunites; it’s just a matter of determining what fits, what can help us, and what we can work with. Farmin’s not for everyone, and the same goes for the city. Really, it’s all about balance. Down 2 Earth Designs is a means of finding that balance…giving us a place to express and share our creativity, and ideas, and generate income to pay for things like land, equipment, materials, and eventually a festival that tours the country.

3. Tell us a little about hemp as a textile and its sustainability.

Hemp is the longest, strongest natural fiber. It is durable, absorbent insulating, and being natural, it is of course breathable and bio-degradable. Hemp is not just the heavy canvas stuff that everyone thinks of when they hear “hemp.” It can be blended with other fibers to form a variety of textures. Hemp and silk is my favourite, so I work with five different varieties of hemp/silk.

Hemp is sustainable both environmentally and economically. As far as clothing goes, it will last a long time, and it will also return to the earth when its time is done. There are a lot of amazing facts about hemp. The one that set me off is that the amount of paper produced from four acres of trees only requires one acre of hemp. Not only can you sustainably produce paper, but the fiber (for textile use), and the seeds (which are highly nutritious) still remain. Hemp also requires little or no pesticides/herbicides, as it has few enemies.

4. I see that one of your bags has a veggie-message. Tell us about that.

It’s less of a veggie-message, and more of a know where your food is coming from message. It’s a scary world out there. It is important to be conscious that animals are being mistreated and pumped with antibiotics for human consumption. Not only are we putting our own health at risk, but the Earth is always at stake. If we mistreat the Earth, we’re as good as chopped liver. I was reading an article in a publication called The Ram’s Horn about how the food industry is making claims about cloned meat being safe to eat. Actually, that is where the images I used came from. The Ram’s Horn is a great resource, published monthly, that raises awareness, and questions what is going on in the food industry. It’s really an interesting read, especially if you are interested in local food/food security.
The bag says “You are what you eat. Ask.” There are all kinds of alternative options. Free range, organic, local is the way to go. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to make a difference. The description on Etsy also includes some tips for urban hunting/gathering (aka dumpster diving). You’d really be surprised the surplus of food that is thrown out as waste, yet it is perfectly salvagable.

5. Are you the only designer, or do you work with others?
It started out as just me, and my mama (aka the bag lady). She is the most amazingly supportive mother I could ever ask for! Now interest is growing, and I am living and working with a close friend of mine who I have vended with in the past. We are working on a line of sustainable menstrual pads that will be available on the Etsy site soon. We are touring out East this summer, and plan to have a website up and running over the next month or so where people who are interested in what we are doing can stay in touch with what’s going on. There’s always room to grow!

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