Manufacturing and origin
Manufacturing
Finland is still an important manufacturing country for Marimekko; most of the products made in foreign countries are manufactured in the EU. You can see the geographical breakdown of manufacturing on the graph above.
We have decided to keep and develop profitable manufacturing in our home country and we are very proud of our three company-owned factories. Our textile printing factory in Helsinki prints most of our fabrics, around 1.5 million metres a year. Printed fabrics and related design expertise have always been the heart and soul of our business. New printed fabrics and the products made from them result from teamwork between specialists in several different fields, and it is particularly important that our designers are able to work close to the production facilities. In 2011 we invested in a new printing machine, which tripled Marimekko's textile printing factory’s output capacity. The added capacity is deployed in stages. The overall trend in the sector is completely different, but we want to go against the trend because we believe that being a pioneer in pattern design goes hand-in-hand with in-house production. Our bag factory in Sulkava makes our classic bags. In Kitee, purses are sewn – to such an extent that we recently acquired a few more machines for the plant. The Kitee factory also produces tricot clothes. For many of our products, the domestic content is comprised of Finnish design. Having in-house manufacturing is extremely important for product design. And, naturally, it is easier to influence both the product quality and the responsibility of the manufacturing when you have your own factory.
The proportion of in-house manufacturing has declined in recent years because the production of several products demands the kind of specialist expertise that we ourselves lack. The proportion of in-house manufacturing has declined in recent years because the production of several products demands the kind of specialist expertise that we ourselves lack. We always aim to find the best possible manufacturer for the product. Many other factors also play a part, such as production quantities, delivery lead times and manufacturing costs. We also always respect ethical and environmental issues. Many of our subcontractors have been partners for a long time. From the start, we pledge our new partners to the unified Marimekko way of doing things. Our subcontractors’ actions are guided by procurement contracts, a Code of Conduct based on the ethical rules of the ILO and BSCI, and quality manuals in which we have recorded quality requirements and production guidelines. We also supply our subcontractors with a list of proscribed chemicals which may not be used in the manufacture of our products. Read more about responsible sourcing here .
The greater part, around 80%, of our products are made in the EU. In 2011, Marimekko’s biggest manufacturing countries were Finland (36%), the Baltic countries (32%), and Portugal (11%). Subcontracting from developing regions has expanded gradually, but it is still small.
Country of origin
In order to serve our customers and to increase the transparency of the production process we mark all our products with their country of origin even if this is not obligatory. The country of origin is the country in which the product is given its final form, meaning it is determined by the final stage of work on the product. For instance, a tablecloth made of fabric woven in Germany and printed in Finland and with the hems sewn in Estonia will have Estonia as its country of origin.
Hands after all
Human and machine. Skilled hands and modern technology. Marimekko’s fabrics are printed in Finland, in the Herttoniemi district of Helsinki.
Until the 1970s, all Marimekko fabrics were printed by hand. During the 1970s our manufacturing was upgraded and it expanded markedly. A new factory building was completed in two stages of construction in the Herttoniemi district of Helsinki in 1973 and 1979. The plant was designed by architects Erkki Kairamo and Reijo Lahtinen. The new building had facilities for a textile printing factory, a finishing department and a central warehouse. The factory was extended in 1983, when the head office, the Helsinki sewing factory and factory outlet moved into the same premises.
We have also dynamically updated our production in the 21st century. Almost all the machinery and equipment in the textile printing factory was replaced 2004–2008. In 2011 we started up a new printing press and in 2012 the screen-making equipment. But there would be no new printed fabrics without the wizards of the artwork studio, colour lab, screen making and printing press, who are poised to put into practice a designer’s wildest notions. From there, Marimekko House, bold and colourful patterns still spread out into the world. Find out about the printing process here. We are so proud of our textile printing factory that we made a video clip you can watch on YouTube.
