The past...
The cultivation of hemp and it’s yield started 8500 years ago in Central Asia.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, hemp appears among the main textile plants cultivated from the Americas all the way to Russia, even passing through Old Europe.
In the 19th century, the massive arrival of cotton, harvested in India and in the United States by a labor force reduced to slavery, shot the worldwide cultivation of hemp to the bottom.
In the 20th century, the arrival of synthetic textiles finally finished hemp off ( 1937 year of the conspiracy).
Since the beginning of that century, hemp’s share in worldwide textile never ceased to decrease so as to become less than significant.
In 1937, the U.S.A. decided to heavily tax hemp growers.
The effect of that decision was mostly a paralysis of the cultivation of this plant (raw material).
Today the major part of the yield comes from Asia and Eastern Europe.
Contrary to the U.S.A., the countries of Eastern Europe, once part of the soviet bloc, as well as China never gave up on their production of hemp, consumed most of the time at the national level.
The present...
The TH3 Project was born in Geneva in June 2001.
After two years of studies and coming together, the first collection sees the light in 2004.
The directing idea of this project is to promote the use of hemp while proposing a different view point on this often misunderstood plant.
We developed our own graphic line while trying to bring a simple message for all, whether active or not in the hemp area.
The choice of this plant was obvious for a number of three main reasons :
1. Hemp is a top choice raw material.
2. It’s use is diverse and multiple.
3. It’s a natural resource of practical solutions for the global economy.
The 2005 collection premiered at the CanaTrade in April.
As of June of the same year, it was available in many shops in Geneva and it’s surroundings.
As for now, we mostly focused on the French speaking part of Switzerland and Swiss markets.
Never the less, we are open for business propositions regarding international distribution of the brand. (see contact team)
The future...
Like you read before, starting from the 18th and 19th century, hemp became less and less profitable, as compared to other cheaper textile plants like cotton.
Yet, in the second half of the 20th century, it’s cultivation regains some of it’s long lost interest.
In these times where there’s lots of talk about sustainable farming or the diversification of plantations , hemp represents an undeniable interest.
This plant carries a large quantity of biomass, therefore it gives excellent results as a raw material to manufacture a large variety of products (textile, fuel , cosmetic, food, construction).
However, the return of this plant scares many lobbies and won’t do without the help of its supporters, whose fight only begun at the start of this new millennium.
In the future, TH3 should develop different products and broaden its textile range.
Different project are currently under heavy study. This process takes time: Our politics is to develop quality garments.
