Expo welcomes hemp skincare founder
Photo: Supplied
Sustainable clothing for all ages
GENTLE, durable and comfortable; Margaret River Hemp Co owner Georgina Wilkinson is paving the way for high quality hemp clothing, food and skin care in Australia.
Running two shop fronts with the other located in Fremantle, Georgina has invested the past 16 years developing high quality, hemp-based products with the help of partner Gary Rogers.
“We are passionate about what we do and we have believed in the plant for such a long time,” Georgina said.
“It’s durability, sustainability, the more efficient way in which it can be grown and the jobs, I think, it will bring to Australia in the future, will be phenomenal.”
Settling in Margaret River after travelling across Australia, Georgina took over the ownership of the Margaret River Hemp Co from her parents.
“It’s such an amazing place and a beautiful place to live.”
Cultivated for thousands of years across the globe, the hemp plant is still widely used in modern society for a range of products including seed, fibre, medicine, oil and skin care.
“It’s a far superior product and it’s going to be amazing what it will do for the whole of Australia.”
Georgina said that, although production of hemp crops in Western Australia was slightly behind the rest of the country, her and partner Gary were excited to work together and support Australian farmers in the process.
“We have our growers licence and we are growing our first crop this year.”
Georgina’s skin care range is based on hemp seed oil purchased from Tasmania and, with fibre processing facilities based in New South Wales, the couple find freight the biggest roadblock.
“It’s quite expensive for us so we’re working on the food industry as it’s a bit more doable for us at the moment.”
The qualified caterer is passionate about creating a range of products to suit everyone and says hemp is the perfect ingredient for all skin types, adding her range can be used to treat Psoriasis, Eczema and Dermatitis.
“We make all our skincare in Margaret River and we have a full range of about 50 products which have been developed by myself over the past 14 years.
“When I took over working with my parents on the business, the only hemp skincare you could get in Australia was from overseas which is why we started doing our own.”
With public perception finally working in their favour, Georgina said it’s been “a long haul” to get to where they are today.
“The momentum in our industry is huge and has been building, especially over the last two years.”
Recently taking on the role as chairman for the Industrial Hemp Western Australia Association (iHempWA), Georgina said she was excited to head to Earth Expo in Tasmania to spread the word about such a versatile plant.
“We’ve never been to Tasmania so we’re really excited and it’s a sustainability expo, so it’s not just about hemp.
“My husband is a builder so he’s very keen to see what else is out there in regards to building sustainability and everything that goes with it and I’m sure it will be a great networking opportunity as well.”
Written for Tasmania Earth Expo, a special publication printed by Fairfax Media.