Glenwood Springs textile company opens its doors to the public for the first time in 25 years 

For the first time in 25 years, Glenwood Springs-based EnviroTextiles is opening its doors to the public and offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at the sustainable textile company in celebration of Earth Day.

The hemp-focused company produces natural fiber fabrics, finished products, yarns and non-woven textiles using sustainable materials including hemp, coconut fiber, and agave cactus. Some of its creations — including a hemp-silk wedding gown — are on display in the Glenwood Springs Art Council’s newest exhibition, “Woven: An Adventure in Textiles,” until May 27.

Summer Star Haeske, who co-founded the company with her mother, Barbara Filippone, in 2001, first heard the words “industrial hemp” when she was 10 years old.

“It’s captivating when you learn that a single plant can create food, clothing, housing, industrial goods and a multitude of industries to shift away from toxic materials and to natural products,” Haeske said. “There’s really no question of is (hemp) something to support now. 

“When we started EnviroTextiles 25 years ago, I was 19 and I had watched (Filippone) fight for a plant material that had a lot of controversy,” she added. “So I had to really ask myself, do I want to fight for this too?”

The answer was a resounding “yes,” — Haeske has now been in the hemp business for 30 years. 

Now, EnviroTextiles’ headquarters will be open to the public for the first time from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Saturday, April 26, at 3214 South Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs.

It’s a chance for visitors to see the company’s international sample facility, materials, finished products and a hemp seed sizing and processing manufacturing line.

It’s also a time for EnviroTextiles to explore the idea of opening a local retail store to supplement the company’s income as it navigates newly imposed tariffs on imported goods — a heavy hit for the family-owned business that sources much of its material from China and Mexico.

Retaliatory tariffs on imported U.S. goods in other countries are also a concern. Last year alone, EnviroTextiles shipped its products out of Glenwood Springs to brands in 72 different countries. 

“It’s going to be a way for us to make some retail and extra funding because we’re going to be shifting all of our manufacturing to many of the other countries that we’ve developed over the years,” Haeske said. “Many of which we didn’t continue doing big productions with years ago because either the quality wasn’t up to our standard or there just wasn’t enough hemp fiber to go around…so now that we’re having to shift things, it’s going to be a real challenge.”

Haeske says they’ve been trying to bring industrial hemp to the U.S. for 40 years, but the tariffs — introduced by the Trump Administration to increase U.S. manufacturing and address trade imbalances — will halt their efforts.

“With our industry and many others, unfortunately in the U.S there is no infrastructure. There’s no industry. There’s no manufacturing. So for this tariff war to be across products of all categories, it’s detrimental to so many businesses,” Haeske said. “It’s also including the raw materials that feed the manufacturing of so many products and brands that are produced in the U.S. so it’s a really, really big problem. 

“To think that this could be done overnight is insane,” she added. “It really takes time and years and investment to build out factories. Oftentimes we need to import the equipment that’s needed to build our factories, and the tariffs on the equipment are more than the tariffs on commercial goods.”

EnviroTextiles has one message for the Roaring Fork community: it’s here, and it’s open for business. 

“I don’t think anybody has realized how many times hemp has saved the day of these high-end weddings in Aspen because the people’s materials didn’t show up in time. Aspen Branch Design will call us and go ‘Oh my gosh, we need 200 yards of this beautiful ivory muslin cloth to complete this tent for this wedding because their fabric didn’t show up,'” Haeske said. “Hemp saved the day because we were right down the street.

“So to be able to build this community supply chain that is not only there to help each other if it’s needed, or to simply be part of the creation of other products, and people knowing that we’re here to be able to service them is really huge,” she added.