enSoie Values
Remaining faithful to our core value of sustainability, both social and environmental, running a family business since 1984, and establishing successful, long-term partnerships with small manufacturers – all these factors have helped us create a company that we are proud to run and work for. We guarantee environment-friendly products, we make designs to last, we use high-quality materials and we ensure fair working conditions. We regularly visit all of our manufactories. Transparency is crucial to us. We never throw a fabric away. We take pleasure in using up every button, zipper or piece of clay to make something long lasting and beautiful.
Design & Materials
At enSoie we design everything in-house at our atelier in Zürich, right above the store. Our small team is headed by family member Anna Meier, our creative director since 2013. Anna wants to create designs that last, designs that are classic, timeless and artistic. Uniqueness and individuality are important to us. We foster these values by manufacturing in small series. We use natural fibers that are degradable and we also reuse leftovers. High quality organic materials are largely sourced from certified suppliers in order to ensure environment-friendly products. Monitoring the working conditions of our material suppliers is essential to us.
Made in Zürich
The specially launched «Made in Zürich» icon stands for Swiss quality and everything created locally. Our in-house sewing atelier is located above the store in Zürich’s old town. Our team of seamstresses manufactures each product by hand and on traditional machines.
Partners
Every design is created in our own atelier and turned into high-quality products by small manufacturers. The two manufacturers portrayed here in Kolkata and Pruszków are among our official partners.
Kolkata, India
It was in the late 1970s when Monique Meier, founder of enSoie, traveled to India to meet with our partner Surendra Joshi for the first time. Together they explored traditional Indian crafts and textile techniques. Today, we still work with Joshi and his team and are proud to continue producing with the same craftspeople. We are committed to fair working conditions; we continuously improve sustainability performance and work towards shared goals. We meet in India and Zürich on a regular basis.
Pruszków, Poland
Justyna Babel-Piktel, a longtime friend of founder Monique Meier, is our ceramicist partner in Poland since 1990. She was born into a family of potters and is a professor of ceramics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Today thanks to Justyna and her highly skilled team, we continue to create a line of one-off ceramics with intricate hand-painted details. Justyna creates her unique objects at home in her own studio.
Repairs & Alterations
Our products are made to last. We will repair our items or provide an alternative solution. Our service includes repairs and tailoring alterations. Our ceramics are excluded from the repair service. For more information please contact us.
Handle our items with love and care.
Certifications & Labels
To mark quality and sustainability, the textile industry works with certificates and labels. Independent testing institutes audit companies for various components and issue a certificate or label depending on the results. This creates clarity and security for the customer.
At enSoie, certifications are not always possible because a certain production volume is required. Since we produce limited editions in small manufactories (10-30 pieces), we are often too small for the usual institutions. For this reason, we have created our own label to mark the guarantee of fair working conditions in our manufactories. The "enSoie Sustainability" label stands for:
- We know all our employees personally
- We visit our manufactories regularly
- All workplaces are bright and clean and have access to washrooms, kitchens and recreation rooms
- Living wages are being paid out
- We maintain an ongoing exchange of information about working and production conditions.
Made in Zürich
The specially launched ‘Made in Zürich’ icon stands for Swiss quality and everything created locally. Our in-house sewing atelier is located above the store in Zürich’s old town. Our team of seamstresses manufactures each product by hand and on traditional machines.
Partners
Our official enSoie partners include the partnership with Mr. Joshi in Kolkata, India, which dates back to the 1970s, and the partnership with Mrs. Babel-Piktel in Pruszków, Poland, which was established in the 1990s.
Swiss label
The "Swiss label“ is only attested to products made mainly in Switzerland (at least 70% of a product). It promotes Swiss quality workmanship, products and services. More information: https://www.swisslabel.ch/
GOTS (Global organic textile standard)
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is recognised as the world's leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibres. It defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well. More information: https://www.global-standard.org/
OEKO-TEX®
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is one of the world's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances. It stands for customer confidence and high product safety. More information: https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/standard-100-by-oeko-tex
Harris Tweed
Harris Tweed cloth is handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. More information: https://www.harristweed.org/
FSC
Our lovely gift boxes, as well as other printed materials, such as postcards are all FSC certified.
EtaProof
EtaProof fabric is made from densly woven cotton fibre. This means whether dry or wet it is windproof and keeps you warm, yet breathable. A special treatment gives it excellent DWR (durable water repellency) properties. In the unlikely event of torrential rain penetrating the DWR treatment, the moisture will cause the fibres to swell, closing the weave even tighter. So tight than no water can get in, yet body vapour can still escape. Hydrostatic Head is 900mm according to DIN EN 20811. For more information click here.
Better Cotton
The Better Cotton Initiative is a non-profit prorgam that promotes better standards in cotton farming and practices.
Better Cotton is produced by farmers who: minimise the harmful impact of crop protection practices, use water efficiently and care for availability of water, care for the health of the soil, conserve natural habitats, care for and preserve the quality of the fibre and promote Decent Work.
