Harrison Spinks’ Ecoshiv
21st February 2017
The Farm
At Harrison Spinks we grow and harvest hemp to provide us with a unique natural filling for our mattresses. Hemp is a highly absorbent material and is naturally resistant to mildew, helping to keep beds fresh and hygienic. All the hemp is processed on site at the Harrison Spinks Farm, where we have recently tripled hemp processing to meet with increased demands. But we can only use the soft stringy fibres in our mattresses – they wouldn’t be very comfortable if we left the woody core fibre in our beds – this is where hemp shiv comes in.
We wanted to make sure nothing goes to waste, and in order to uphold our sustainability credentials we’ve been able to turn the by-product of hemp into a 100% natural, very absorbent, dust free animal bedding – hemp shiv, that is now for sale.
Hemp Shiv has many qualities which make it an excellent horse and animal bedding:
Highly Absorbent:
Hemp Shiv has natural absorbent qualities, similar to that of a sponge. It is said to be capable of absorbing 12 times more water than straw and 4 times more than wood shavings.
Ultra Compostable:
There is no problem with disposing of shiv bedding (unlike shavings) as it decomposes quickly into a highly fertile organic fertilizer.
Odour Absorbing:
Hemp Shiv bedding traps smells and ammonia, you can keep a deep litter bed and still have a pleasant smelling stable for your horse.
Ultra Low Dust Content:
Hemp Shiv raw material is thoroughly dust extracted – making it suitable bedding for horses or ponies with respiratory problems.
Grown and Processed in the UK:
From start to finish Hemp Shiv is grown and processed in Yorkshire.
Easy to Maintain:
All that is needed is to rake the bed daily and take out the wet bedding once a week, you can add fresh Hemp Shiv as necessary.
Cost Effective:
Many horse owners have reported saving up to a third on the cost of bedding when they have switched to using Hemp Shiv.
Grown Pesticide Free
Rich Yorkshire soil, rain and sunshine create the perfect growing condition to grow our hemp crop from seed using absolutely zero pesticides or herbicides.
Environmentally Friendly
Hemp takes just 4 months to grow and is a carbon-negative raw material.
Harrison Spinks Hemp Shiv bedding products are supplied packed into 15KG heat sealed polythene bags for ease of handling and storage.
If you are interested in buying some Harrison Spinks bedding or would like more information, please contact Alison: amanning@harrisonspinks.co.uk