Mumbai, India — The Hemp Craft (THC), founded in Mumbai, India by designer brothers Jugal Mistry and Rahul Mistry, have launched their first product – a chic looking backpack made from 100% pure hemp. The backpack is called TashiPack, named after Tibetan word “Tashi” which means auspicious.

This project, which is now live on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, aims to bring back the use of hemp on a global level and promote the use of this sustainable natural fiber while also supporting the hemp farmers of Himalayan villages of Nepal.

Hemp, grown from a type of cannabis plant, was the first plant to be spun into usable fiber 10,000 years ago. It is the strongest natural fiber and has great ecological benefits compared to Cotton. Hemp uses 75% less water than cotton, it requires no fertilizer and has zero impact on the soil and environment.

Jugal Mistry, the co-founder, tells the story “We got introduced to the Hemp industry during our travels in Nepal and were overwhelmed by the passion and dedication of the Hemp farmers there. Despite of the exceptional environmental blessings of this plant, Hemp textile is getting replaced the synthetic fibers even in their own regions and their livelihood is being threatened. People of these already poor villages have only one know-how, that is, to produce hemp. That is when we decided to bring hemp to a global platform and design international quality products, thus reviving the industry and saving the planet in whatever little way we can.”

“TashiPack was carefully designed to fit into an urban lifestyle. It is a smart looking ultra-light 100% organic backpack that is great for your daily use or even outdoor trips. Hemp has antimicrobial properties and it lasts for years so you know you are getting a long-lasting product out of it. And with each backpack we sell, part of the sale goes towards the education of the local farmers who nurtured this plant for you” adds Rahul Mistry, co-founder and designer of THC.

This is their first but not the last product to be made from hemp. THC plans to create many more everyday use hemp products in order to achieve their 3 primary goals:

•  Revive Hemp Industry
•  Use Sustainable Products
•  Educate Hemp Farmers

THC has completed prototyping and manufacturing stage and are taking pre-orders for TashiPack right now. There is limited early bird price of $79 (original price $99) and it even includes a free wallet made from pure hemp.

You can support their cause by getting your TashiPack from their Indiegogo campaign or simply making a donation: www.indiegogo.com

Check out the pitch video of their campaign on YouTube: www.youtube.com

You can write to them on thehempcraft@gmail.com or tweet @thehempcraft