German Sustainability Award Design 2021
And the winner is: NINA REIN!
With sustainable businesswear for women.
When we heard the sentence, we couldn't believe it at all. It was incredibly exciting on the evening of December 3rd, 2020. After several great companies, such as Erlich Textil and Cocccon , had already received the award, we thought that we would only be decorations in the live broadcast of the event.
But let's start from the beginning. The German Sustainability Award has been around for 13 years. It was initiated by Stefan Schulze-Hausmann and is awarded by the German Sustainability Award Foundation together with the federal government and other partners to pioneers of sustainability. There are several categories: companies, municipalities, architecture, research, startups (NEA), packaging and, since this year, design.
This summer we applied for this award and explained exactly what makes our clothing so sustainable and in which fields of transformation we are particularly effective:
Our major topics are resources, fairness and society.
- We work in a way that conserves resources, from design to production to shipping. It is not enough to focus on just a small part of the production chain. We use sustainably produced materials, most of which are manufactured in Europe. The manufacturers make sure to use organic raw materials and only use environmentally friendly dyes for dyeing.
- We use as little plastic as possible in our entire production process. And we don't follow trends just to sell as often and as much as possible.
- The fabrics are further processed in Lithuania. There we work with independent pattern makers and seamstresses. We pay a fair wage for the work and know that only trained adults work there. Of course, it is easier to keep a good overview of your supply chain when you produce in smaller quantities. We are aware of that. As soon as we produce quantities for which our current model no longer works, we will find another solution, of course without worsening the conditions for the workers.
- We also want to support our customers with our clothing. We make it possible to wear an outfit that is environmentally friendly, but doesn't look that way in a negative way. You can shop with us with a clear conscience.
- Our outfits adhere to a sophisticated dress code. We see our clothing as a tool. Just as you need a laptop for many jobs these days, you also need the right outfit for a strong appearance and a successful career.
- If someone falls in love with one of our pieces but doesn't want to buy it, they can borrow it from www.unown.de. We want to make clothing accessible to everyone and encourage conscious purchasing decisions. Wearing a piece just once is never sustainable, even if it is an environmentally friendly product.
When we were actually nominated for the Sustainability Design Award a few months ago and finally made it into the final round, we were really surprised. Among the competitors were companies like DM and Puma, huge corporations, but also companies like Erlich Textil, who have been operating sustainably for longer than we have.
We, on the other hand, are still a very small company that only consists of a permanent team of Julia and Susanne. (Our first intern starts in March 2021, yay!)
We had hoped that we would ultimately win this award, but we did not expect it at all.
The creators of the Sustainability Award want to use the prize to create visibility and provide guidance regarding products that can be purchased with a clear conscience.
"All winners share the same potential to drive change towards greater sustainability - in very different ways. We hope that the award will help them to create momentum and motivate others to also work on innovative projects," said the jury.
We absolutely agree on this: We want to have a beacon effect. If small newcomers like us manage to produce fairly, then the big textile companies have little excuse not to do it.
Photos: Christian Köster and Dariusz Misztal
Julia Ickert & Susanne Kienast GbR (January 2021 - July 2023)
