The Godfather of Hemp: Meet Jim McDonald

James McDonald is a name known to the hemp industry for over 22 years now. We know him as boss, or Jim. Originally immersed in the rag trade (clothing industry), Jim first heard about hemp when selling t-shirts at a Greenpeace protest in the early 90’s.

“A guy from Friends Of The Earth gave me an earful for not having environmentally friendly Hemp T Shirts. So I made it my business to find out more about hemp and have been on it ever since!”

It took the rest of us a little longer to catch up. Everybody these days is talking about the rise and rise of hemp but few know that right in the heart of Dublin lies one of the longest established and most iconic Hemporiums in the world – all thanks to Jim, who set up The Hemp Company Dublin back in 1999.

On a Mission to Bring Hemp to the Masses

In the early days, he was on a mission to source hemp products, a journey which took him all over the world from Amsterdam and Germany to Nepal, the USA and China. He witnessed first-hand the enormous potential for this industry and how fundamental it was to the communities who cultivated it and the environments it grew in. Jim began to gain an understanding into the far-reaching opportunities this plant created and has spent the past two decades pushing it to its limits to find out what is possible – from clothing and cosmetics to construction and food (and everything in between).

For People & Planet

Over the last number of years with further discovery and development surrounding CBD Oil and its powerful properties, The Hemp Company Dublin have been at the forefront in bringing high quality global brands to the Irish public. Jim remembers welcoming Vera Twomey into the Hemp store on Capel Street, the Mother of a very ill child:

“When Vera Twomey and Paul  first brought Ava to my shop in October 2016 it was the beginning of her journey of recovery. The great results achieved in reducing Ava’s seizures by 90% with our pioneering CBD oil were life changing for the family.”

 

 

 

 

 

The Future is Hemp

Jim is well-known for his compassion and appreciation for the human side of this industry and what it can do for the planet. He has developed a range of Hemp Company products which sum up the best of his discoveries at competitive pricing but the sky is the limit and Jim firmly believes that hemp still has a crucial role to play in today’s society.

“From farming to building and product development across every imaginable industry, we could experience the creation of jobs and  the regeneration of our rural communities for the benefit of all the people and the planet.”

His parting words; “We are proud members of a global hemp family who are pioneering a passive evolution towards a better world for the planet and all its people.”