Sustainable fashion brand Hemper enters liquidation

Sustainable fashion brand Hemper has filed for creditor bankruptcy and liquidation due to insolvency. The Madrid-based company also presented a bid for the acquisition of some of its assets.

In an official statement released June 16, 2025, Hemper’s management announced the company's bankruptcy filing. The sustainable fashion and accessories brand, which specialises in showcasing hemp as a sustainable and low-impact raw material for the fashion ecosystem, made the decision due to its complex financial situation. Hemper’s management justified the move, citing the "growing complexity" for independent and committed brands working towards a "purpose-driven" fashion and textile industry. This situation threatens to end Hemper’s nine-year journey. However, its management hopes this will be a new beginning, allowing the brand to continue under new ownership.

"Filing for creditor bankruptcy is a painful but necessary decision," Hemper’s management stated. "We continue to believe in the value of a model that combines regeneration, social justice, and contemporary design." They added that this decision opens up the possibility for the project to find new ways to continue and give "a second life to Hemper, keeping its purpose and impact alive."

Bid for assets

Hemper filed for liquidation on April 30, 2025, with the Commercial Court number seven of Madrid. According to the documentation accessed by FashionUnited, the company faces liabilities of 447,000 euros and had only two employees.

Additionally, the court was informed that, along with the liquidation request, a bid was presented for the acquisition of some of Hemper's assets. It is unclear whether this bid is for the acquisition of the entire company or just its productive unit. The latter would allow a new owner to continue developing the Hemper project and brand without being liable for the company's nearly half a million euros in liabilities. Hemper’s future depends on whether its creditors approve the liquidation plan, which could proceed with the acquisition bid as is or under new objectives presented by the creditors or the judge.

Nine years promoting hemp as a sustainable raw material

Hemper’s management took the opportunity to review the brand's nine-year history and its efforts to promote hemp as a sustainable raw material for the fashion world. The company, which was founded in 2016 by Gloria Gubianas, Álex Pastrana, Gonzalo Martín, and Manu Sierra after a volunteer trip to Nepal following the 2015 earthquake, hopes to continue beyond its current insolvency.

Hemper highlighted achievements such as becoming the second Spanish fashion brand after Ecoalf to achieve B Corp certification in 2019. In 2020, Hemper launched the ‘Malahierba’ capsule collection with Spanish young fashion brand Springfield (owned by Tendam), marking the first collection by a major Spanish retailer with the Fair Trade label. Over the years, the brand partnered with other fashion brands like Camper, Eseoese, and Brownie; collaborated with emerging artists, creatives, and social groups like Adriana Roslin, Jon Kareaga, Rocío Aguirre, and Top Manta, the social cooperative of Barcelona's street vendors; and developed sustainable products for companies like Acciona, Artiem Hotels, the Arco art fair, and the award-winning restaurant Cenador de Amós in Villaverde de Pontones (Cantabria).

For three years, Hemper connected its fashion philosophy with new generations through a postgraduate course in ethical fashion and business in collaboration with IED Madrid. These actions led to Hemper receiving widespread recognition, including Gubianas winning the CaixaBank Autonomous Professional Woman Award in 2022 and being a finalist for the Princess of Girona Social Award in 2025, which ultimately went to Pablo Sánchez Bergasa, founder and director of the NGO Open Medicine to the World.

"Despite the current difficulties, Hemper says goodbye—for now—leaving a legacy of tangible impact and a community that will continue to demand a different way of making fashion," the sustainable fashion brand's management stated. "Since its founding, Hemper has collaborated with more than 20 rural workshops in Nepal, directly impacting more than 300 people through a model of fair trade, decent employment, and sustainable economy."

"Today, I sit down to write this message with a lump in my throat and an open heart," Gubianas expressed in an open letter to the brand's followers. "After nine years of walking alongside you, Hemper closes its doors. It has not been an easy decision. It has been a decision full of reflection, honest conversations, looking inwards, and accepting that sometimes the most beautiful paths also have an end." She continued, "It all started with a trip to Nepal. We went in search of answers for a research project, but we found much more: a noble fibre like hemp, a community with ancestral wisdom, a way of doing things with soul. From there, Hemper was born."

Gubianas concluded by saying, "Today, I want to ask you one last thing. If you ever felt that you were part of this, if you were ever moved by a story or chose a product with awareness, I invite you to join us one last time." She explained that "there are still pieces available, and every final purchase is a way to support the closure of this cycle with meaning. Thank you for so much. For being there. For believing. You will always be part of this family that dreamed of, and achieved, changing the rules of the game."