- Company Name:
- Eco-T Ltd (Trading as THTC / The Hemp Trading Company)
- Website:
- www.thtc.co.uk
- Industry Sectors:
- Clothing manufacture, wholesale and retail
- SEE Listing Publication Date:
- 25 January 2010
SEE Questionnaire Summary
Business Introduction
Description of business
THTC is the trading name of a company registered in the UK as Eco-T Limited. Its main premise is that the hemp plant is a fundamental and profoundly useful crop for humankind and any sustainable and holistic agricultural system. The company exists to develop, manufacture and market hemp-based textiles and clothing.
THTC is a streetwear brand that principally uses hemp and organic cotton fibre in its clothing, though also offers some bamboo t-shirts and polo shirts. It was founded in 1999 by two brothers, Gav & Dru Lawson, and a friend, Danny Sodergren. After researching the global hemp supply chain, hemp/organic cotton blend knitted T's were sourced from a good factory in China.
The T's were then screen printed in the UK and sold through music and independent clothing stores as well as off the THTC website. As the brand grew THTC worked with more and more musicians particularly in UK Hip-Hop, D&B and Dance scenes, although now increasingly in the indie/rock scene.
THTC is released a capsule streetwear range for Spring/Summer 08 that included Men's and Women's T's, hoods, sweats and trackpants and have a capsule range of wovens coming out in Autumn/Winter 08.
The team, at one point, consisted of 8 staff, though in recent years has scaled down significantly and is run exclusively by Gavin Lawson.
Business vision
THTC envisions a future where industrial hemp is recognised as an essential part of a holistic approach to living sustainably.
This company will facilitate this through the wholesale and promotion of sustainable clothing.
THTC aims to become an internationally-renowned streetwear brand, recognised for the strength of its design, quality of its clothes and support for its community and partners. Eco-T looks to further promote sustainable clothing to as broad a market as possible.
THTC exists to educate and inspire its customers while having a positive effect on the land where the fibre is grown and the people who manufacture the garments.
Business aims
THTC aims to be a premier sustainable and independent street-wear brand that combines cutting edge designs with leading ecological and ethical initiatives. At all times, Eco-T / THTC seeks to improve the quality of its products and increase customer awareness through an entertaining and original marketing and sponsorship approach.
THTC aims to support emerging and conscious talent in areas where the brand is sold through sponsorship and support, and encourage conscious education for young people around the world.
Eco-T / THTC also seeks to educate people about the uses of industrial hemp and reduce the mis-information that has surrounded the crop in recent decades.
Business philosophies and beliefs
THTC believes that it's possible to create a more exciting style of ethical and organic fashion. THTC is currently one of the few erganic clothing companies that actually looks to create activism and environmentalism.
While others will often simply look to sell to an existing market, THTC is design-led, and reaches a whole new audience for ethical fashion, namely young men who wouldn't necessarily be interested in such ethics.
This is achieved with intense sponsorship of urban musicians, DJs, MCs, B-boys, poets, activists, actors and activists.
THTC has produced ranges for The Burma Campaign, Zulu Nation UK, Trojan Soundsystem, Maharishi Clothing, Peace not War, the NHS and many more. THTC's designs are produced by graffiti artists, namely Mau Mau, Herse, Fybe and Gibla and is now working on a range for Amnesty International with Mau Mau to produce graphics for campaigns.
Business Information
- Date established:
- 2nd November 2004
- Contact details
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- Gav Lawson, Brand Director THTC; gav@thtc.co.uk, +44 (0)7866 361 119 +44 (0)208 630 9001
- Business structure
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- Limited Company
- Address of company headquarters
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- 15A Princes Avenue, London, W3 8LX
- Countries of operations
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- Based in the UK, manufactures in China.
- Countries where goods and/or services are sold
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- THTC sells across Europe and in Japan, and sells via the web to destinations globally.
- Size of workforce
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- 1 Full time Director
- Financial year
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- 1st April to 31th March
- Turnover (last financial year)
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- Less than GBP 250,000
- Profit (last financial year)
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- Incurred a loss
- Details of owners
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- Gav Lawson 80% Dru Lawson 10% Nick Jones 10%
- Directors' other business interests
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- This is field is obligatory. Business to submit information!
Goods and Services
THTC is principally engaged in supplying sustainable streetwear. The primary fibres we use are hemp and certified organic cotton that is spun and knitted into different weight Jersey and fleece.
We have an individual design take on streetwear standards such as T-Shirts, Hooded Tops, Polo Shirts, Track Suit bottoms, Baseball Caps, belts and sweatbands.
The brand itself is music, politics and street-art based and has a distinctive logo and a strong tradition of classic screen prints.
Business Responses
All business responses to the SEE Questionnaire are made available for public scrutiny, comment and rating.
If you wish, please offer comments and ideas of your own and rate responses for clarity and/or policy quality. A business can use your ideas and suggestions to improve their SEE practices and performance. If you don't think what the business says is accurate, or think it is incomplete or misleading, please challenge the response.
Click on a topic area to reveal business responses:
Community Relations is about a business in a social and economic context. A business can strongly influence the quality of life not only for employees, but also for the wider community in which it operates. It is recognised that a sustainable community promotes sustainable business.
Corporate governance is about how a business is structured and whether rights, responsibilities and duties are clearly set out and understood. These issues are critical in maintaining accountability and providing strong decision-making functions.
This section provides an opportunity for a company to indicate how it remains honest, transparent, equitable and reputable in its conduct. These objectives are relevant to any business whether large or small.
To whom and exactly how companies make donations and payments, including those to charitable organisations, professional associations and government, are extremely complex issues. It is important that companies disclose their corporate donations, publish their payments and explain what they hope or expect to receive in return.
Natural resources are vital to sustain our lives and lifestyle. This section looks at the impact business operations have on the physical environment. It is not always easy to address the challenges, but companies have the opportunity to show the problems they face and how they tackle them.
This section is about how businesses ensure that their operations do not violate the fundamental rights of individuals and communities at home or abroad. Businesses have the opportunity to examine this issue with regards to their own practices, supply chains and business relationships.
This section is about how businesses handle consumer rights and wider welfare issues. Many of the questions cover areas where there is a fair amount of legislation and regulation: it is an opportunity for businesses to show how they go beyond a legal minimum to address ethical issues in the marketplace.
It is widely acknowledged that people are the most valuable asset to any business. In this topic, the questions are addressing the treatment of workforce. It is quite diverse but the focus is on promoting a fair, equitable, honest and supportive work environment.
