Today we open a large melon. We are going to explain how and where we manufacture our products.

We want to make it clear that under the Minimalism concept and under the manufacturing of all our products there is a clear theory: Use only what is useful for day to day, prioritizing quality, responsible consumption, sustainable manufacturing and product durability.

Every day we are clearer about the importance of sustainable production, aware of the environment and the development of the populations that are responsible for manufacturing the products.

In fact, the so-called "fast fashion" does not go with us much, we understand it but we position ourselves in another terminology such as "slow fashion" or "basic fashion" . We will apply this terminology to all the products that we are bringing out in the brand.

Once that's explained, let's talk about manufacturing:

Where do we manufacture?

Our backpacks (in days we renewed the black version) and minimalist wallets are made in China, in the cities of Shenzhen and Guanzhou. From the very beginning we manufactured outside of Spain. In various talks or events we are always asked the same question, why in China and not in Spain? .

The answer is not what everyone expects, it is not only because of costs, it is because in Spain we have not found anyone who is capable of making handbags and backpacks with the same or better quality than the ones we have right now . At the level of machinery, manufacturing times and experience in the manufacture of these products they give us some advantage, hence our decision to continue manufacturing in these places.

Obviously we pass all the manufacturing controls required to make our products in a sustainable way . We have a brand representative who is in charge of analyzing how the manufacturing is carried out to guarantee that it meets all the requirements that we demand of them.

T-shirts and future products . In this case we opted for Bangladesh, in the city of Dhaka. We have manufactured before in Spain and Portugal but the final decision was Bangladesh.

We take as a basis for production the social inclusion of women, the development of knowledge and skills of the local population, development and manufacturing taking care of the environment in production without using or applying chemicals , complying with GOTS certificates throughout our process. productive. Here we have several partners that make our products pass more controls, we have just started manufacturing there and we want the relationship to continue long-term with new products.

Manufacturing in China or Bangladesh is not bad . The process is as follows: the product is made (passing the pertinent controls required by us), we carry out the import, we pay what is necessary in customs and to the tax agency (on average 21%) and we declare our sales in Spain .

There is one thing that seems very curious to us, many people question where the brands manufacture their products and not where they declare the sales. We have consulted this in talks and events and almost nobody cares. It is just as, if not more important, where income is declared than where products are produced. Have you ever wondered where the purchases you make on Amazon are declared?

We declare everything in Spain even if we work remotely , we believe that it is fair and necessary.

At Minimalism we firmly believe that things can be done well, at a fair price and in a sustainable way (the latest change, for example, is to send all orders without plastic). We want to continue growing, with clear values ​​and contributing to sustainable development in the manufacture of our products. We will continue to work on things that we believe in. are you with us?

Any questions you can write to us at hola@minimalism.es, share it with a friend or sign up for the newsletter, interesting things are coming, let us know.

May 09, 2019 — Pepe Martín Garcia

Comments

Guillermo said:

¡Hola Minimalism!
Mi pregunta está relacionada con el primer contacto con las fábricas de China o Indonesia.
Desde que diseñais el producto, hasta que firmais el contrato de producción, ¿Cuáles son los pasos que habeis seguido?

Es decir, entiendo que no debe ser nada fácil esa labor de research de provedores chinos. Y luego, ¿cual es el acercamiento? ¿Habeis tenido que ir hasta Shanghai por ejemplo, a aseguraros que el encargo va como es debido? ¿O existen profesionales chinos que hacen de intermediarios y aseguran la calidad de la producción? En ese caso ¿cómo habeis contactado con ellos?

Es un tema que me llama bastante la atención, porque siempre lo he considerado uno de los principales escollos del e-commerce.

Muchas gracias y enhorabuena, me encanta el blog!

Minimalism said:

Hola Florencia. Nos alegra que te preocupes por este tema.
La verdad es que es más fácil de lo que parece. Te explico.
Hemos llegado a un acuerdo con la fábrica dónde producen marcas como Standley and Stella que cumplen con todos los requisitos necesarios para producir nuestras prendas. Nosotros seguimos su mismo criterio y tenemos los mismos intermediarios, así nos aseguramos que la producción es sostenible y responsable. Tienes toda la información detallada, incluyendo su social report en la web de standley and stella. Un saludo y gracias!

Florencia said:

Hola! Quisiera saber mas detalles sobre este tema, por ejemplo cuanto es el salario minimo de las personas que trabajan en la fabricacion de las telas y productos? Como se aseguran que tienen un trato justo? Donde se podria ver mas detalles de esto? Por ejemplo las industrias de fabricación que utilizan, de donde salen las materias primas, de donde sale el algodon que utilizan, etc.
Me gustaria conocer mas sobre estos temas. Muchas gracias!

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