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Do you know who sewed your garment?
Each Woolpower piece carries a personal name label from the seamstress who crafted it. With fair working conditions and pride in every stitch, we create garments you can feel confident in.
Are fair working conditions and a living wage important to you?
Do you know how the people who made your clothes are treated? If you’re wearing a garment from Woolpower, you can feel confident that the people behind it have fair working conditions and earn a wage they can live on.
At our factory in Östersund, one of Sweden’s largest sewing facilities, we operate nine production lines. Our seamstresses work in teams, each focusing on different products, from jackets and vests to accessories, Long Johns and Zip Turtlenecks.
No one works on piece rates. Quality always comes before quantity. If a seamstress identifies an issue in the process, production is paused to fix it.
Below, you can meet some of the seamstresses who have worked, and continue to work, in our factory in Östersund.
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A quality seal
So, it is the same seamstress that sews your entire garment, from the first to the final seam. Once the entire garment has been sewn, the seamstress checks and approves it by signing the garment with their own name. That’s why the name tag is both a quality seal, as well as way to help our customers understand that behind every garment is a person. A person with a great deal of knowledge about their craft.
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Monika Heldorsson
Monika has been working at Woolpower in Östersund since 2016.
“I attended Woolpower’s seamstress when I first started here. We learnt how to make garment patterns and how to use the machines, and then we had to start sewing clothes. It went well for me and after that I got a job. I love working with my hands and managing my own tasks. These types of jobs aren’t so common in Sweden and it’s great to have such a unique role. I’m proud of my job.”
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Martha Persson
A name that appears in many of Woolpower’s garments is Martha Persson. Since 1975, she has worked as a seamstress in Östersund. The summer of 2020 will be her last in the factory when, after 45 years, it has become time for her to retire again.
Over the years, she has accumulated lots of memories, and even though world celebrities, royalty and great politicians have stood beside her and watched her work, it is people and meetings during the factory annual open house she remembers best.
“I love the factory open house. People are curious and want to know everything. You usually do not think so much about how unique it is with a sewing factory in Sweden, but during an open house it becomes extra clear and visitors have a lot of questions “
Martha retired already in the summer of 2019, but she only managed to be retired for a week before she started to miss the colleagues too much and she was back at Woolpower again. Now she is making a new attempt and the plan is to exchange fabric, sewing machines and thread for wooden boards, saws, and hammers.
“Yes, now I will try to retire again. I live on a farm so there is a lot to do. First, I will learn how to change the panelling on the barn then we will see”.
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Martha Persson
Ett namn som förekommer i många av Woolpowers plagg är Martha Persson. Hon arbetade som sömmerska i Östersund från 1979, men sommaren 2020 blev hennes sista i fabriken. Efter 45 år har blev det dags för henne att gå i pension igen.
Genom åren har hon samlat på sig massor av minnen, och även om världskändisar, kungligheter och stora politiker har stått bredvid henne och sett hennes arbete, är det människor och möten under fabrikens årliga öppna hus hon minns bäst.
“Jag älskar när fabriken har öppet hus. Folk är nyfikna och vill veta allt. Man tänker oftast inte så mycket på hur unikt det är med en syfabrik i Sverige, men under ett öppet hus blir det extra tydligt och besökarna har mycket av frågor”
Martha gick i pension redan sommaren 2019, men hon hann bara vara pensionär i en vecka innan hon började sakna kollegorna för mycket och hon var tillbaka på Woolpower igen. Nu gör hon ett nytt försök och planen är att byta ut tyg, symaskiner och tråd mot träskivor, sågar och hammare.
“Ja, nu ska jag försöka gå i pension igen. Jag bor på en gård så det finns mycket att göra. Först ska jag lära mig att byta panel på ladugården så får vi se”.