Hemptown Names Barker to Board
Vancouver, Canada–based apparel maker Hemptown Clothing Inc., an eco-friendly company, named Kenneth Barker to its board of directors.
Barker is co-president of the Portland, Ore.–based business investment firm The Meriwether Group, which has been assisting Hemptown with a series of strategic initiatives and funding during the past year.Meriwether helped Hemptown partner with S Group, which is conducting product design and development for Hemptown’s HT Naturals collection. Hemptown Chief Executive Jerry Kroll said The Meriwether Group will also assist in the rollout of Hemptown’s biotech, enzyme fiber process, Crailar, which was created to transform raw hemp fiber into an apparel-quality fiber that is both soft and strong.
Before launching The Meriwether Group in 2004, Barker was director of apparel for Adidas America. He has also worked for San Francisco–based Levi Strauss & Co.’s Canadian operations, overseeing its Levi’s and Dockers brands. —Alison A. Nieder
