Looking for innovations in the hemp textile industry, I had the opportunity to meet Alejandra García, founder and creative director of The Up Collective, a hub founded together with Natalia Solano, which connects all kinds of professionals with projects related to the hemp industry.
HSM: Alejandra, you are from Costa Rica, how does Costa Rica approach hemp?
AG: Costa Rica opened up hemp production last year, but the process will take time to be easily accessible to small companies. In fact, it has been reported that only one large company has permission to plant hemp.
However, the market for imported hemp has opened up in Costa Rica since 2019 with the first permit to locally produce CBD-infused broad-spectrum beverages. This has opened a window for education until we are able to produce hemp locally.
One model to start from, used in agriculture, are cooperatives and associations. And among the first things to be decided is whether the cultivation will ultimately result in seeds, fibres or flowers, as previously negotiated with the buyer of the production.
HSM: How did you approach hemp?
AG: It happened because I was looking for natural medicines and discovered hemp and its benefits. Later, thanks to my training in marketing and business administration, I started working for CBD brands offering them my consultancy services. However, since my grandmother and mother were seamstresses and this introduced me to the world of textiles, when I got closer to the hemp industry, I was fascinated by the benefits of hemp fabric. After meeting hemp designer Soreyda Benedit Begley, U P º Collective decided to focus on this division, connecting hemp fabric suppliers with their customers through Hola Hemp. Technology is also part of our background and we intend to integrate it into the experience that hemp clothing brands are already offering.
HSM: What is the main objective of Hola Hemp?
AG: Hola Hemp's main goal is to share the benefits of reintegrating hemp fabrics into our everyday clothing, while collaborating with projects that aim to make hemp garments more affordable. We are currently working on a virtual gallery for the Future of Fashion 2023, which will showcase the work of hemp fashion designers from around the world at the Living Arts & Science Center in Kentucky.
We are also exploring blockchain solutions and how we can integrate them into the hemp textile industry, because it would allow us to map the sustainability of the entire production process, offering validation of origin and therefore complete transparency. Furthermore, the integration of wearables is also a very interesting topic for the hemp fashion industry, so we are also looking into these aspects with the aim of creating a hemp collection in the metavers
HSM: Could you also tell me about your Pararelli projects?
AG: Our main goal is to support sustainable solutions for our well-being, so we will always try to provide services that meet this need. We are contacted by people interested in hemp and put them in touch with the right professionals to develop their projects. We have offered services for legal CBD brands or to create one; and we connect people with suppliers of legal CBD extracts, hempcrete architects, 3D designers, photographers, content creators and even doctors if someone needs this kind of guidance.
HSM: What are your future plans?
AG: As we are specialising in the Web3 space, the long-term goal is to offer modern tools to hemp apparel brands, bringing them into the metaverse, with virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, while we educate about hemp fabric and create our products.
HSM: Thank you very much for this interesting interview on the metaverse and textile hemp side!
Translated with Linguana