Regionality, promoting and demanding - these are very strong terms! But what do they mean in detail? What are they worth and why are they so important to us? How and why are you sponsors? And why should that be important to you?
When you start producing something, the first thing you think about is where can I get my raw materials from as reliably and quickly as possible. That's how it was for us when we started with our first product, the Chala Classic, in 2012. I admit, we didn't think about it for long at the time, but even back then the naturalness and sustainability of the first product was very important to us. From the first understandable thought you start looking for your suppliers. Depending on the raw material base, you will certainly first look in the surrounding area to see whether someone produces the basic materials and raw materials and can supply you.
The requirements change with the size, professionalism, success and type of what you want to produce. There are certainly raw materials and raw materials that cannot be easily sourced from the region. But of course, with the size of a startup and the ambitious growth strategies associated with it, people, investors or companies often get involved and clearly set the pace. In the end, it's all about profits. A real “greenwashing” is often carried out: graphics, optics, labels, the entire product layout is designed in such a way that the customer thinks that it is a very sustainable product that can be bought with a clear conscience. I could go a long way with the topic of greenwashing and easily fill my own blog report. But I would like to give this blog post a different direction...
As a small Chala® brand, we don't source every raw material from the region, but that doesn't mean we can buy cheaper and therefore make more profit. Rather, we set quality standards at the highest level and there is no alternative to that. That's how it is, for example with the Poron XRD, which we source from the USA. We certainly tested regional alternatives here, but not a single material came even close to the high quality of Rogers Poron. The end product would not be as long-lasting as we imagine, which is why as a brand we do not always choose the most sustainable and shortest route. Because you should look at the entire product cycle, especially the service life. This plays an equally important role in a sustainable cycle. If a product only lasts half as long, then it has to be produced again. That is energy intensive and, with all the logistical routes, ultimately even less sustainable than if we rely on the longevity of a product. So in short, it is extremely important to look at and evaluate the entire shelf life product cycle.
Just saying - the last feedback from customers was "Dear team, after 10 years my Evo 4.0 broke. It's crazy how long it lasted. Big compliments to you". Or "I've been wearing your sandals for 5 years, they just last too long, now I want to buy some new ones."
The strong connection to regionality has great advantages for everyone involved. The example of our leather shows that the farmer benefits because he does not have to dispose of his valuable raw material at great expense; on the contrary, he even receives appreciation for his great raw product. The regional craft businesses, in this case the tanners, are supported because they generate orders and these do not migrate abroad. As a manufacturer, we benefit from both and receive excellent quality, which is also very understandable. As a customer, you benefit from a clear and very traceable supply chain, excellent quality, which in the end is only slightly more expensive than a product from abroad. But it's clear that the quality and durability end up going through a long product cycle and thus not only strengthens the region, but also actually conserves resources that would be needed for new production with shorter product durability cycles.
Nevertheless, we are currently noticing that, especially in these economically difficult times, there is a reluctance to buy and that the so-called “sustainability” as a whole is often put aside. They can just take a break every now and then, or to put it another way, the middle class, especially families, save and reduce their consumption to a minimum or like to think more short-term. It certainly makes sense in many respects to reduce consumption, but our credo is: Reduce consumption, buy fewer “crappy” products, rather buy a really good product, which perhaps comes from the region and if possible
