Responsibility theme: Sewn in Finland (domestic production)

Our third responsibility theme focuses on our core business, i.e. domestic manufacturing. From the very beginning of our operation, we have wanted to keep clothing manufacturing within Finland's borders, and we are still working towards that goal every day. We founded our own sewing factory in Varkaue in 2019 and we are constantly developing it to be as modern as possible in order to secure the competitiveness of Finnish sewing work. We also want to maintain and promote the Finnish clothing industry, the largest of which has moved abroad in search of cheaper prices.

We take care of our staff's well-being and offer them e.g. a better salary than the collective agreement, a paid meal break and medical insurance. We organize regular development discussions for our staff, so that we can together plan a job that suits everyone and also give them the opportunity to develop in their own tasks. We support our staff if they are interested in further training alongside their work. Twice a year, we also organize staff days, when we can break away from our normal everyday life together.

Our clothes are always sewn in Finland

In 2021, our clothes were sewn in four locations: Varkau, Kuopio and Kitee, and for the pants included in the maternity package, also in Ilmajoki. We design and our clothes are designed, planned, cut, sewn and, at the latest, always in Finland. It has always been important to us that all work steps in our production are done as close to us (Varkauta) as possible.

Our goal is that all ehta by Dream Circus clothes are made in Finland in the future as well. We and our Finnish products have been awarded the Key Label, Design from Finland and DO Saimaa labels.

Carbon-neutral textile industry 2035

We have joined the Carbon neutral textile industry 2035 commitment, the goal of which is a carbon neutral textile industry in Finland. With the commitment, we were able to use a carbon footprint calculator, with which we have been able to calculate the carbon footprint of our company. We also receive training and sparring so that, in addition to developing our own operations, we are also able to promote low-emission operations in global value chains. We have talked about our carbon footprint in more detail earlier in our blog

The environmental impact of our sewing factory

The most important environmental impacts of our own sewing factory are related to energy consumption and waste generation. We have taken measures to reduce our energy consumption, for example all the lighting in the sewing room was changed to LED lights. We have also renewed our sewing machines to modern models that consume less electricity. The energy consumption of our own production facilities decreased from 2020 to 2021 to 892 kWh.

We strive to generate as little waste as possible. In 2021, we expanded waste sorting even further and today we also sort plastic, cardboard, paper and bio-waste separately from mixed waste. We do not individually pack our products and thus save packaging materials. We also changed the plastic e-shop Packaging bags to bags made from recycled materials. These bags can also be used for a possible customer return thanks to the second sealing sticker - this way no new packaging waste is generated from a customer return.

Our environmental impacts and, for example, our waste volumes are detailed in our sustainability report, which you can download here (opens in a new tab )

Charity and cooperation with local actors

We participate in charity events whenever we can. In 2021, we did charity work, e.g. With Erkka yoga and local Christmas tree collection. We also donated prizes to the Pink Ribbon auction as well as #savossyntynyt pants to all babies born in Kuopio on August 15, 2021, on Pohjois-Savo County Day.

We also cooperate with local operators to promote the region's vitality. We are e.g. involved in Warkaus kaupunkieskusta ry, which promotes the attractiveness, vitality and accessibility of Varkaus city centers in cooperation with companies in the area, the city, real estate and shareholders and other communities. We are also members of Suomen Yrittäjie, Kuopio Chamber of Commerce and Suomen Tekstiili & Muodi.

Read more about our responsibility report on our Finnish clothing production and e.g. From our Rento pants sewn in Finland, which were also included in the 2022 maternity package. You can download it here.

We previously published our 2021 sustainability report , which was the first of its kind. As a result, five themes of responsibility were also born, which we focus on especially closely in our work. We will present these themes one by one in our blog during the end of 2022 in the order according to the value chain.