Sustainability Q+A with Minimalisma
Minimalisma
INTERVIEW WITH MAJA AKRABERG SILLER
FOUNDER, MINIMALISMA
WHAT IS THE MINIMALISMA ETHOS?
I care deeply for the environment and for the children, who will wear our clothes. Purely natural materials. Good working conditions are essentials. Clothes must be comfortable. I take it very personal if anybody comments on something they did not like and do my best to improve for next production.
WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED, IS YOUR WHOLE TEAM THERE?
I am Faroese (Faroe Islands). I grew up there. My whole family is Faroese and speaks Faroese. Denmark is my second home that I left just before starting minimalisma. I live in Zürich Switzerland with my little family. My husband lived here when I met him in Copenhagen and he missed the mountains, so on my 1st maternity leave, I decided to give it a go and this is now our home and HQ of minimalisma. Sorry to write that much, but it's important to me to say that I am Faroese / Scandianvian / Nordic.. many think that because I live in Switzerland then the brand is swiss, but its like saying my child is not the same nationality as I. And, don't get me wrong - I do love Switzerland too! :)
And to the question: We are a small team of 2 fulltime (me and my husband) and three part-time employees in Zürich - and the stock is in Germany and handled there as it's easier to keep within the EU.
WHERE ARE THE COLLECTIONS PRODUCED? ARE YOU ABLE TO CLOSELY MONITOR YOUR PRODUCTION?
We work with suppliers in Hungary, China, Nepal and Bangladesh. All are suppliers / friends that I have worked with for 8-15 years. I used to work in quality management and lived in China for a while where I did many factory inspections, so I do the inspections myself, but most factories are also controlled according to GOTS or BSCI and other standards.
WHAT WAS YOU PROCESS IN SELECTING YOUR FACTORIES AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR MANUFACTURERS ARE MEETING BEST ETHICAL PRACTICES? DO THEY HAVE ANY CERTIFICATION?
Some I worked with in my previous jobs and have known for a long time, others I have found by searching for GOTS Certified factories. Mostly GOTS or BSCI certifications.
WHAT KIND OF FABRICS DO YOU MOST USE? ARE YOUR FABRICS GOTS ORGANIC OR OEKO-TEX CERTIFIED?
Purely natural qualities and always certified organic cotton.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT HOW YOUR FABRICS ARE DYED?
All fabrics are, naturally, dyed according to EU standards and naturally without the use of any harmful substances.
HOW DO YOU SELECT THE FABRICS YOU USE AND WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
We believe that the best products are made at their origin, where the expertise to handle the material is the greatest. Therefore, it is a natural choice for us to produce our signature silk seamless at the cradle of the Silk Road – in Jiangsu Province on the east coast of China – a place that has around 4500 years history in the trade of silk. In the same sense, the cotton used for our Organic Essentials and Organic capsule line is grown in Turkey, a country famous for producing cotton since at least 400 A.D. Once spun and coloured, the cotton is then knitted and finished at our GOTS certified factory in Hungary.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR OVERSTOCK OF MATERIALS AND FABRIC SCRAPS?
80% of our collection is NOOS (never out of stock), meaning that the goods do not go out of fashion or collection and can thus be sold year round. We have very limited overstock.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR PACKAGING FOR SHIPMENTS TO CUSTOMERS?
We re-use the cartons that we receive from our producers when we send goods to our b2b customers. The boxes don't always look so nice after being used once before, but they carry the goods well and are re-cycled that way.
DO YOU USE INDIVIDUAL BAGS FOR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS WHEN YOU SHIP TO RETAILERS? IF YES, ARE THEY RECYCLED AND/OR COMPOSTABLE?
Yes, we use individual plastic bags, they are compostable.
DO YOU USE RECYCLED PAPER FOR YOUR HANG TAGS, POSTCARDS AND MARKETING MATERIALS?
Yes.
DO YOU WANT TO SHARE ANYTHING ELSE WITH OUR READERS ON YOUR EFFORTS IN SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICAL PRACTICES?
We ship all our goods from China by RAIL and try to collect development samples/lab-dips/etc. so that two deliveries can be posted as one. If we can save a sample sending by confirming by pictures and videos, we do so.
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Last updated August 2020
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