Brighton Fringe is teaming up with Gig Buddies for Good Mental Health, an organisation set up to match adults experiencing Mental Health challenges with a volunteer who has similar interests, to go to events together that they both love.

Gig Buddies is designed for individuals with mild to moderate mental health needs, who are able to live fairly independent lives but need an extra bit of support to empower them to attend live events.

Brighton Fringe and Gig Buddies are looking to find volunteers of all ages, no matter their background, who can support adults to attend Brighton Fringe 2022. Training and support is provided, and all volunteers are police checked to ensure we are all thinking about the safety of the people we support.

Gig Buddies matches up participants and volunteers based on a common interest and taste. Gig buddy pairs then meet, plan what they’ll do together, and get together at least once a month to go to an event, whether that’s a gig, concert, club night, art gallery, or other cultural events.

Cultiva Kingdom was born out of a passion for sustainable materials and a desire for change within the textile industry. Protecting mother earth and the animal kingdom is at the heart of our mission.
After discovering the amazing eco qualities of hemp, Cultiva expanded its horizons, championing high quality fabrics and products that are kind to nature and its inhabitants. Our little kingdom is part of a bigger plan to look after the world's ecosystems and push towards a circular economy.

We work with sustainable materials to improve water quality, reducing the toxins and plastic entering the water systems and ocean. We love natural fibres and the carbon-absorbing properties of the plants they come from. We also make sure that all our products are biodegradable, reducing the impact of waste left in landfill and making steps towards a plastic-free society.
We invite you into Cultiva Kingdom, to discover our consciously-created clothing, beauty products and more, crafted with care and respect for our beautiful planet and its diverse animal kingdom.

We’re here to push change and to make a noise for hemp textiles! We aim to clean up one of the dirtiest, most polluting industries in the world. By working with hemp, we are already reducing our negative impact on the planet for the people.

We aim to empower people to work with hemp to help protect our world’s resources and force a change to one of the most polluting industries of our globe: commercial textiles.

We are a brand which believes in designing for longevity with hemp. You will discover that our products are developed with man’s strongest fibre and therefore will last longer than most synthetics! Just by adding hemp yarn into material compositions, we can significantly lower the production of carbon dioxide and usage of water. Making the most of our land’s resources, we work with high yielding and naturally fast-growing crops that can harvest up to four times a year. As a bioremediation crop, this plant can also give a new breath of life back into the land, putting nutrients into our soils again.
We are always striving to evaluate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our production, materials, and distribution. We base our core principles around building a circular economy; this ensures that our biodegradable products move into a chain of systems, rather than being left in a landfill to gather dust for hundreds of years.

Carefully created with accomplished British design, our collection is made with sustainably sourced natural materials. Each one is coloured with a plant-based dye that is used to reduce chemical exposure of toxins in water to allow our eco-systems to flourish. Check out our specialised hemp fibre collection of garments, accessories, masks, boutique care products, homeware and fabrics.

We have been very excited to welcome to launch of The Green Room. Working with Emma O’Neil, founder of La Rue Verte was a great pleasure! The launch took place in the boutique Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel, based in the heart of Glasgow.

Together we have developed the ultimate hemp spa experience as CBD cosmetics and hemp textiles combination. The CBD skincare collection is the first one to be CIBTAC accredited.

Empowering wellness and relaxation, the room is designed to offer a comfortable, luxury spa experience including a range of wellness activities. This includes yoga, sound healing and spa treatment. By offering the hemp textile products, it becomes a unique opportunity to feel good whilst supporting the planet.

The eco-friendly products included a biodegradable hemp yoga mat, silk spa mask, face cloths, quality robes, and canvas bag. By collaborating the products, we see CBD skincare presenting a new outlook on health and sustainability.

Cultiva's Hemp Fashion Exhibits With Freedomee At The House Of Lords

This week Cultiva Clothing made hemp history as we were welcomed to the launch of Freedomee, a platform for sustainable fashion and its transparency.
Francesca Giobbi and Samanta Bullock explaining their journey so far
Francesca Giobbi and Samanta Bullock explaining their journey so far

Laura Bossom, founder of Cultiva Clothing with Samanta Bullock
Laura Bossom, founder of Cultiva Clothing with Samanta Bullock

The evening was organised by Francesca Giobbi and Samanta Bullock who invited a set of leading sustainable fashion designers to exhibit their products in Parliament. Amongst the show was Cultiva Kingdom (carbon capture material),Ketsali (zero waste fashion), Pinkbags (locally sourced), Dear Ocean (community focused collection) and many more.

The exhibit was followed by a debate about the issues which surround the industry and how Freedomee is seen to solve some of these problems. The group encourage a level of transparency from product production, to the people who made the textiles and where materials are sourced. Each stage will be recorded with blockchain technology to collect information to help consumers make a better informed decision when purchasing an item.

“The choices you make when purchasing fashion are extremely important to changing the industry for the better. We believe in leading and forging a path to sustainable fashion. This is our contribution to a healthy planet. Join us.” - Francesca Giobbi

Samanta Bullock has been an inspiration to Laura, founder of the company. Her aspirations and achievements for ensuring a sector of the fashion industry which is built on community and encourages inclusivity. It is important that we remember that everyone needs clothes. She empowers designers to consider new elements such as disability and how this impact how your garment fits around your body. Her range of products includes jewellery, accessories to beauty products all focusing on inclusion.

Cultiva Kingdom is happy to launch an exciting collaboration which will emerge with Samanta Bullock and her classic collection for inclusivity.

Rebellion, Revolution, Rise Up!

Greta Thunberg, the young climate change activist has visited London to take part in Extinction Rebellion’s latest protests. 2019 has become to the year where the young generation are crying out for climate justice. In February, the UK experience Youth climate protesters in more than 60 towns and cities, with an estimated 15,000 taking part.

Over a 1000 protesters have now been arrested over climate action in the past week of Extinction Rebellion’s action. In the past couple of weeks, London has experienced disruption like no before. Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Edgware Road and Waterloo Bridge were shut down for a week.



Climate Uprise

Walking around the areas the roads had become blocked by tents, banners and giant sculptures of elephants. Stages and signs stood up in the roads where people sat facing a wall of police.

The activist group Extinction Rebellion claim, “ The fashion system is broken. Globally we produce up to 100 billion pieces of clothing a year, taking a terrible toll on the planet and people who make them. What’s worse, new reports predict the apparel and footwear industry will grow by 81 per cent by 2030, putting an unprecedented strain on already devastated planetary resources.”.

Their new campaign #BOYCOTTFASHION is encouraging the population to be more careful when buying new items and to seek alternative shopping behaviour habits such as renting, swapping and borrowing clothes.

Their Fashion Die in Oxford Street played a part in raising awareness of this fashion crisis to London. The group will continue taking industry action till they believe they reach climate justice for the planet.

Cultivate Hemp Revolution

The company is inspired by naturally grown sustainable fibres such as hemp and nettle. The new fashion brand promotes an ethos of slowing down fast fashion with the intention to create garments which last longer than conventional brands.


Why hemp fabric?

Hemp fabric has been used by humanity for thousands of year as a natural fibre, known for its durable fibrous strength. In historical events, hemp has been used for industrial fabrics such as sails for ships, canvas, sacks, rope and paper.
Hemp is a plant that is capable of putting nutrients back into the soil and is extremely fast growing.

For example, hemp can produce 250% more fibre than cotton. Its natural resistance allows the crop to be grown without pesticides, herbicides and with minimal water use result in a low water footprint.

This t-shirt will last longer than any other with natural resistance to mould, bacteria and ultraviolet light. It has the ability to hold its shape well and will inevitably becomes softer after multiple washes. For the best result, use a hemp liquid detergent to wash this eco-friendly t-shirt with a natural washing agent.