HTnaturals
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Apparel |
| Genre | Corporate histories |
| Founded | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada (1998) |
| Founder | Jason Finnis |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Area served | North America |
Key people |
Jason Finnis (Founder) Larisa Harrison (Founder) |
| Products | Eco-Friendly Clothing |
| Services | Wholesale, Retail, Private Label |
| Parent | Naturally Advanced Technologies |
| Website | HTnaturals.com |
HTnaturals is a Canadian clothing and accessories company based in Vancouver, BC. The company focuses mainly on wholesale sales to third party retailers but also operates a factory outlet in Vancouver and an online store. Founded in 1998, HTnaturals has grown from a fledgling home-based business to a thriving leader in the natural and organic clothing industry.
History
Jason Finnis and Larisa Harrison, founders of HTnaturals, began working in the hemp industry after meeting at the University of Victoria in 1994. They started by selling hempen goods such as paper and clothing at folk festivals and other events. Later deciding to concentrate purely on apparel, they opened Hemptown Clothing Inc. in 1998 after the production of industrial hemp was re-legalized in Canada – a legislative measure which Mr. Finnis had been publicly supporting throughout his career.[1] In 2006, the company changed its brand name to HTnaturals to reflect the incorporation of other natural materials, such as bamboo and soy, into its products. In 2007, HTnaturals provided all of the garments for Starbucks' “My Starbucks” T-shirt program.[2]
HTnaturals closed their doors in the summer of 2009. This allowed them to focus all of their attention on the hemp fibre technology that they're working towards. It became clear early on that the quality of eco apparel, specifically hemp apparel, needed to be improved before consumers, farmers, and politicians could be enticed to promote the growing of hemp in North America. In 2004 they partnered with the National Research Council of Canada and the Alberta Research Council to develop new processes for transforming Canadian-grown hemp into a soft cotton-like alternative called CRAILAR. They've been successful in reaching this goal and have spun fibres on regular cotton-spinning equipment, resulting in cloth with applications ranging from T-shirts to carpet. They are now in the midst of commercializing this technology and exploring partnerships with some of the world's leading brands. They have recently signed a multi-phase Joint Development Agreement with Hanes (www.hanes.com).
Products
HTnaturals produced clothing and accessories made from hemp, soy, organic cotton and bamboo.
Sustainability
HTnaturals Triple Bottom Line philosophy aimed to put people, the planet and profit all on the same level of importance.
See also
Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.