Global production chains are often intransparent and anonymous. We believe this shouldn’t be ‚business-as-usual’, which is why we make ours as transparent as possible.
Humana Nova
All our textiles are made with dignity and by democratic self-management. Our dear colleagues from the workers’ cooperative Humana Nova in Croatia are people with wishes and dreams just like you! What does the work at the cooperative mean to them and what differences do they see with regard to other workplaces? Here you can get to know some of them better.
Ljubica has been working with Humana Nova since 2014. Her main responsibilities are in sewing. What she connects with her workplace is friendship and in contrast to other jobs there is mutual respect between the workers, she says. As for the future, she wishes for health and personal education. Ljubica loves to be with her family.
Mirjana came to sew for Humana Nova in 2015. Working in a cooperative is a whole new experience for her. What makes it so different to other places where she used to work so far is that the entire work rests on respect and joint agreement. She hopes for more business and financial safeness of Humana Nova. In her free time Mirjana likes to spent time with her family in the nature.
Paula is part of the Humana Nova team since 2014. She helps in all production steps. She says that working at Humana Nova has been a big change in her life. Paula values the mutual tolerance that exists here, something she didn’t experience in other jobs. She hopes for a lot of work for Humana Nova. Paula speaks good German and likes to play with her dog.
Anita is part of Humana Nova already since 2012. Her main responsibility is sewing. According to her, the relationships between people are better than in other workplaces. That is why working at Humana Nova means friendship to her. Because Anita is hearing impaired some of her colleagues started to learn sign language. Anita likes to read and if it was for her “the future has to be better!”
Damjanka is one of the founding members of Humana Nova. She is mainly responsible for the creative field and gives workshops on upcycling. By working with the cooperative she wants to contribute to the betterment for all people both in Humana Nova and the rest of the society. Damjanka’s favourite ways to spend her time are to be with her kids and friends, to walk in the woods and to read books.
Since 2012 Ivan is the cooperative’s manager. This means for example that he takes care of all requests and proposals that are coming from the outside just like ours back in 2014. Humana Nova, he says, is an inspiring new experience for him and his heart. He feels that the relationships between people are much better than in other places. Health and family matter a lot to Ivan and he wishes for a happy future.
Sandra joined the team of Humana Nova in 2014. She is the one taking care of sales and administration. What she really likes about her work at Humana Nova is the ability to decide and gain education. Understanding for each other and equal suffrage are among the things that she finds to be different to other workplaces. It is her wish to expand her knowledge and to carry it over to others. Sandra loves to be around her family.
Sanja started to sew for the cooperative in 2013. Other than in the past, she now feels she does not have to be scared of a new working day and can go to work peacefully. Another difference she likes to highlight is that at Humana Nova they make agreements about everything what they do and how they do it. However, in the future, she would like to have a better working space and a higher salary. Sanja’s hobby is gardening.
Snježana came to Humana Nova in 2014. She has lots of experience in sewing but does also different tasks from time to time. Humana Nova for her means to have an agreement about everything since there works people who have the same or similar work history as she does and so they all have been in similar situations and understand each other. Snježana enjoys going for a walk and spend time with her family.
Tea is also a longstanding member of Humana Nova. From 2011 on she’s mainly involved in the creative art of upcycling old clothes. In Humana Nova she sees a safe job and she feels great working a job she really likes. The relationships among employees mean a lot to her, too. For the future she wishes for health and more peace in the world. Tea likes cooking, drinking coffee with friends and to be with her kid.
Vesna is there since the first day of Humana Nova in 2011. She works in the upcycling and recycling unit and is responsible for the sorting and cutting of old clothes. She works at Humana Nova to make money and values the flexibility they have. She wishes for a safe future for Humana Nova. Vesna has a good time when walking her dog
Printex
Printex is our experienced printing partner. They have been cooperating with Humana Nova for a long time already and are located close to them. Printex is specialised in screen printing with water based colours and is certified under Oeko-Tex Standard 100. Saša, the owner and managing director, employs approximately 30 people. Mirjana, Nino and Melani are those workers whom we work with the most.
Apart from textiles, Printex can also print any info material you may need be it calendars, brochures, books, flyer, poster and so on. Need help with designs, illustrations or layouts? We love to help you with that!
W.D. Textil | Panda
The family-run and Zagreb based company W.D. Textil is our reliable partner for the production of our 100 percent organic cotton single jersey fabric used to produce our t-shirts. Panda Commerce, based in Samobor, is Humana Nova’s longstanding regional high-quality fabric wholesaler.
Most of our other products, like sweatshirts, hoodies and jackets, are made from fabrics sourced by Panda in Turkey.
dna merch
The idea for „dna merch“ dates back to late 2013. Us, that is Doreen Zelmer and Anton Wundrak, two longstanding friends from Berlin who went to school together, originally founded dna merch for bands and other artists. Today, however, it is first and foremost trade unions who source their socially and ecologically made textiles from us.
As a music fan and drummer, Anton often goes to concerts. When he started to be more curious about the exact origin of the t-shirts sold there, it struck him how little to no information was available at the merch stalls. Interestingly, this was also true for those shirts that were praised as fair and ecological. We thought: it must be possible to do this more transparently. And so the idea to build an alternative t-shirt company was born.
