In their search for clothes that offered both comfort and protection in the sun, Clay Matthews and Hayley Moyle sourced and tested fabrics from around the world to find materials for a natural, durable, and UV-protective clothing range.
Since being founded by the couple in 2021, clothing business HempDepo now offers a wide variety of sustainable, 100% hemp clothes for both men and women, including pants, hoodies, shirts, and tops. All garments are designed and hand sewn at HempDepo’s shop in Tauranga’s Historic Village.
COVID-19 obstacles and future plans
Because HempDepo was being set up during the pandemic, the effects of COVID-19 created challenging problems. According to the pair, the biggest hurdle he faced was around sourcing the right fabrics, because although he had an abundance of options, it was difficult to find a reputable manufacturer that had the fabrics he wanted.
In terms of future projects, Matthews is looking to push the HempDepo brand out into the world, exposing more people to his designer clothing. He’s excited about HempDepo’s products, stating he has a distinctive, high quality range of clothes on offer.
“We are looking at getting our brand out on the world stage as I think we have a real unique quality product that just wears and feels so divine to anything out there.”
Why HempDepo is NZ made
The couple enjoys running a New Zealand made business because there are less and less businesses like HempDepo out in the market, and providing handcrafted products gives the company a real point of difference.
“We are proud to be New Zealand made because in our industry we are definitely a dying breed and being handmade sets us worlds apart from most brands.”
