About us

Kombinat Konopny is a company that was founded in 2019 on the initiative of Maciej Kowalski – a hemp entrepreneur, activist and, above all, enthusiast of these extraordinary plants. Our headquarters are located in the small village of Gronowo Górne near Elbląg. Interestingly, we are stationed on the site of the former horticultural combine, which supplied Elblag with vegetables and fruits.

Kombinat is a place that brings together many areas under its banner: in the first place, however, we are a manufacturer and distributor of hemp products closest to nature, which are created by a committed group of enthusiasts.

Maciej Kowalski

- a founder of Kombinat Konopny

The founder and originator of Kombinat Konopny is Maciej Kowalski – a man who has been professionally involved with hemp for several years. He started his adventure with these plants from an activism in the form of publishing a hemp newspaper – Spliff.

In the years 2011-2014 he was also a spokesman for the Free Hemp Association. He was the first entrepreneur in Poland to obtain a permit for growing fiber hemp, which ultimately turned his initial fascination with hemp into a serious business.

The easiest way to get in touch with Maciej is through LinkedIn – we encourage you to follow his posts.

What is the Kombinat Konopny?

The brand is based on two pillars: the herbal and textile branches. 

One of the founding goals of Kombinat Konopny was to create budget-friendly CBD oils and other natural hemp-based supplements. We offer products such as CBD oils with a full spectrum of phytosubstances, cannabidiol in capsule form, or teas, cosmetics all the way to hemp health foods and supplements for animals.

The second leg, is the textile sector. Our goal is to bring hemp-based natural materials back into the mainstream in the broader textile and textile industry not only in Poland, but also worldwide. 

Thanks to countless trials and experiments, which often required combining several machines from totally different worlds in order to be carried out, we have reached the stage where we are able to create hemp yarn, which is then used to create finished textiles – sweaters, hats, curtains and much more. 

We believe that hemp is a great, extremely versatile plant that simply deserves a place in one line along with cotton, linen and other natural plants that we use for textile purposes.

Kombinat Konopny, drone view - 2024 - (source: private archives).

Getting back to the point – Kombinat Konopny is a “hemp harvester” that includes elements such as an integrated production facility, warehouses and halls, an online store, an educational base, our own cultivation fields, and an extensive Research and Development department, which is the core of our business.

We love to experiment and it is the creation of new solutions in the hemp industry that constantly drives us forward. Through perseverance and daily hard work, we believe we will be among those who succeed in bringing hemp back to the mainstream again!

Our dream is for every person to have easy access to high-quality hemp products.

We are Kombinat Konopny
- we create for the love of hemp

Why do we want to bring hemp back into the mainstream?

We believe that hemp has gigantic economic potential, and this is not a theory pulled out of a finger. In the early 20th century, hemp was widely cultivated and used in Poland, especially in rural areas. The hemp-based textile industry had a long tradition in Europe, including Poland, where hemp was used to make rope, canvas, sacks and clothing. At the time, hemp was seen as a valuable agricultural raw material, essential for the production of various textile products.

In the interwar period, Poland was one of the largest producers of hemp in Europe. Hemp cultivation and processing were of great economic importance, especially in the eastern areas of the country, where hemp agriculture was well developed. Hemp was grown on a large scale, and processing of the raw material took place in local processing plants. Hemp products were widely used in agriculture, industry and households.

In the 1950s and 1960s, hemp continued to be grown, but the importance of the hemp industry gradually declined. During the communist era, hemp was still grown for some time for the military, where it was used to make ropes, bags and protective clothing. Hemp ropes and cords were essential for sailing and military transportation.

However, the centrally planned economy began to promote other crops, and demand for hemp as a textile raw material began to decline in favor of synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester.

Opening of the exhibition “Hemp - Flax - Wool.” Visible from the right: Lviv voivode Władysław Belina-Prażmowski, Minister of Industry and Trade Henryk Floyar-Rajchman (with gloves in hand), director of the Lviv Chamber of Industry and Commerce Michał Jasiński. With his back is Senator of the Republic of Poland Wojciech Gołuchowski - 1934 - (source: National Digital Archive).
Rubbing hemp on thorns - 1933 - (source: National Digital Archive).
Technician Anna Majdecka and Master's student Anna Nowożyńska set up insulation on hemp in an experimental field - 1978 - (source: National Digital Archive).
Lab, development and social media manager Olga Jabłońska measures the height of hemp in fields leased by the Kombinat Konopny - 2021 - (source: private archives).

The tightening of hemp laws around the world including Poland at the turn of the 20th century was unfortunately the nail in the coffin and realistically removed the already residual acreage of hemp cultivation.

It is only in recent years that the potential of hemp in the context of ecology and sustainable development has begun to be recognized. 

Poland, like other European countries, has begun to consider a return to industrial hemp cultivation, especially in the context of growing plastic pollution problems.

Personally, we believe that a return to the mass use of this natural and ecological raw material is just a matter of time, and we are doing our best to become one of the pioneers of this hemp change in the 21st century. We believe that hemp will come back into favor again, and jeans sewn using this material will be something as normal as 100% cotton products.

Our efforts are focused on one goal – to restore hemp to its rightful place in the world of textiles and beyond

We aim to make hemp a natural choice again in the supermarket, boutique or furniture store.

How are we going to do it?

Our mission to bring hemp back to the mainstream requires a multi-faceted approach that relies on education, collaboration with experts and the development of our own product line.

The first step in this process is education. We believe that knowledge is the key to changing perceptions of hemp, which is why we regularly share information on our blog. We want consumers, businesses and anyone interested in hemp to be able to understand its benefits and its many uses. Our blog is also a platform where we report important news from the world of hemp, and at the same time we try to be factual about the subject and not always be “hurra-optimistic” about these plants – we realize that they can help us in many aspects, but they are not a magic panacea that will save the whole world. Balance, is the key word in our educational mission.

However, education is just the beginning. Although we are specialists in the creation of hemp yarns and materials, we realize that it is worthwhile to be assisted by the years of experience of other companies that have eaten their teeth in the production of finished textiles. That is why, in addition to developing our proprietary portfolio, we are joining forces with brands that have knowledge and skills in this field.

Hemp bag model “Konewka” created in collaboration with the brand Mr. Not Standing Here - 2024 - (source: www.pantuniestal.pl)
Flat cap model “Shelby” produced in cooperation with Sterkowski manufactory - 2024 - (source: www.sterkowski.com)

An excellent example of such cooperation is our collaboration with the renowned polish Sterkowski manufactory, which has been producing headwear since 1926. Based on our hemp materials, they have created a collection of elegant helmets and hats that combine tradition with modern design. It’s partnerships like this that allow us to reach a wider audience and introduce hemp where for many years it could not be seen.

A key aspect of this endeavor is partnering with passionate people and brands that share our vision. We want to leverage the reach and reputation of well-known companies to bring our products to consumers around the world. It is through such partnerships that we can accelerate the process of bringing hemp into the mainstream and make it as popular as cotton or flax.

We also do not forget to promote hemp among individual users. We encourage people to create their own legal hemp gardens so that everyone can see for themselves the versatility and benefits of growing this remarkable plant. We believe that taming hemp at the grassroots is just as important as education and cooperation with the industry.

We also fight for rights
in hemp industry!

Court judgment: hemp is NOT a “Novel Food”, it can be used in food!

The Polish Main Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) and its “experts” do not like hemp. After many years of groundless accusations against entrepreneurs, a historic judgment was handed down in our case against the GIS.

When we first launched our ‘Zioła na Dobry Nastrój’ (‘Herbs for a Good Mood’), the officials immediately sent us a letter, threatening us with court judgments and forbidding us to sell the product.

What is more, without any investigation, they posted a notice on their website stating that the product could not be marketed. Based on our experience, we filed a complaint against them in court. The first hearing ended up, unfortunately in a typical and scandalous way, with the officials being proved right, to such an extent that the “justification for the verdict” even included extensive fragments of copied (including typos!) GIS formulations.

Not giving up, we appealed the decision to the Supreme Administrative Court, which… agreed with us, ordering the case to be reconsidered by a lower court.

The verdict is probably the first case in Poland (or even in Europe!) where the court did not limit itself to a mindless repetition of the authority’s stance, but instead examined the case on its own merits and came to the only conclusion that could be accepted on a rational basis – that hemp is not a novel food. The decision opens the way for our “counter-attack” – the officials who knowingly committed fraud, concealment and misrepresentation will now be held personally accountable by us.

Below are a few highlights from the reasoning of the judgment – and for those hungry for more details, we encourage you to read the full text of the letter below in this article.

 

“Neither a public administration body nor a court, ruling again on the same issue, may disregard the NSA’s interpretation of the law”

 

“this plant (…) has a history of use and does not constitute a novel food”

 

“The GIS’s assertion in that situation that (…) only the following products are known to have been consumed as food before 15 May 1997: hemp seed, hemp seed oil, hemp seed flour, defatted hemp seed, constituted an unauthorised overinterpretation of the European Commission’s position”

 

“The GIS’s interpretation of the provisions of the Novel Foods Catalogue in the context of the ‘novelty’ of Cannabis sativa L. herb as food was flawed. The applicant is therefore right that the position of the GIS is wrong”

 

“A definitive finding of the ‘novelty’ of the herb Cannabis sativa L. as a food by the authority was also impossible because it was clear from the opinion of the European Commission of 18 December 1997 submitted by the applicant, also known to the authority ex officio, that the herb Cannabis sativa L. was excluded from the scope of the Novel Foods Regulation. It states that ‘it has been decided that food containing parts of hemp seed shall not be subject to the Novel Foods Regulation’.

 

“(…) the undoubted evidence presented by the party in the context of the procedure in question showed a history of consumption of hemp herb both as food and to supplement the normal diet”

 

“(…) the authority first misinterpreted the provisions of the Catalogue of Novel Foods (…) and then carried out an incomplete and minimal evidential procedure, while ignoring documentary evidence submitted by the applicant, as well as evidence produced by the authority itself and known to it ex officio”

 

Of course, we do not expect the GIS to come to its senses as a result and accept that it has been wrong for years. We believe, however, that “the truth will prevail”, so we carry on with our work and, in the meantime, we are happy to encourage you to share this good news with the whole hemp fraternity!

 

There would be no such verdict if it wasn’t for the enormous work of my wife, the author of the substantive part of all our pleadings, Dr. Beata Plutowska, who for a good few years has been collecting evidence not only for the “history of cannabis consumption”, but also building up a sizeable file of abuses and reprehensible acts of official “experts” – and she won’t hesitate to use it ?

(Maciej Kowalski)

 

 

Below you can download the entire judgment, ruling translated by the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA).

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