When I started this brand I chose for Aline Seiler to be a made to order only brand. In this blog I’m telling you some of the many reasons why.
No overproduction
As many of you might have heard one of the big problems we face in fashion is overproduction. This does not only concern fast fashion brands but also most of the luxury brands. As the collections are produced based on anticipated demand many items do not sell during the season and are left over. When the items are not even sold on final sale many of them are destroyed, sometimes even just burned.
By only producing the items that already have been ordered overproduction is prevented. Therefore less resources are wasted.
2. Respectful use of resources
Since working with real leather which is nothing but the skin of an animal I really wanted to be respectful with the way I use it. I try to have as little leftover as possible and try to come up with ideas to use small pieces of leather. This Christmas for example I made ornaments to hand on your tree or to decorate presents with, only using little bits and pieces of leather from previous orders.
Of course it’s not only about the amount ( and type of ) leather I use for your bag. In the end only producing the items that have already been ordered uses less resources in general.
3. Making bespoke options available
If you’ve read my blog post on why I started this label in the first place, one of the reasons was that I could not find a bag that I truly loved. With the made to order approach I can offer the option to make your bag truly bespoke to you. Any of my designs can be adjusted to your needs and wishes, it can be made in almost any color and size. I can also offer making a bag just for you starting from scratch.
Bespoke Monogram Keychain
4. Truly made in Germany
Many of you might have heard about the “Made in Germany” (this applies to most of the “Made in XY country labels) problem. It is stated that most of the design, engineering and manufacturing process has to be done in Germany but we have all heard about so many companies that only have their final steps of assembly done in Germany and still use the seal.
If you are looking for your bag to be handcrafted in Germany in great working conditions and made by a passionate craftswoman I can truly offer this.
I have to mention that not all of the materials I use come from Germany, since many of the most amazing suppliers like tanneries come from Italy and France but almost everything comes from within the EU.
The downside
As per usual to all of the upsides there’s also a downside. In my case it’s production time. Since production of your order only starts after we discussed all of the details and sometimes even only after the special leather for the specific bag has arrived my clients have to be very patient. When it comes to small leather goods I can usually finish the product within a week or two but with bags and individual orders production time can be much longer. I always tell my clients how long production time will be before they place their order, so they can make an informed choice.
It’s all about making choices
All in all I stand by the decision I made when first starting this brand to focus on made to order production. I do work with some small boutiques to which I’m sending several of my designs for display (and also for selling of course) but even in these collaborations most the clients still place individual orders. I do believe that by making the right choices as a company and as consumers we can make an impact on our planet.
Thank you to all of you, who support what I do from the bottom of my heart!
LOVE
Aline