"Environment and Social Issues were always inseparable for me!"
Interview with Kirsten Weihe-Keidel, Managing Director of Sense Organics Import & Trading GmbH
When Kirsten Weihe-Keidel started Sense Organics in 1996 to produce and distribute sustainable children's and baby fashion, this approach was still considered exotic in the market. Today, she is perfectly in tune with the times with her ecological and social concept - yet she views the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act with skepticism. She explained why in an interview with Wirtschaftsforum.
Wirtschaftsforum: Since 1996, you have been producing sustainable textiles with Sense Organics, especially in the baby and children's segment. How much courage was required at that time to start with this business concept?
Kirsten Weihe-Keidel: Honestly, it was quite difficult – especially during discussions with the banks. At first, they thought here comes some old hippie. However, what worked in our favor at that time was that there were very few fashionable designs in this area. From the beginning, we worked with young designers. Many of them came from England or France; they were very talented people, often fresh from graphic design school in London, and could realize their ideas with us. The bigger challenges were more about elevating the sourcing and production processes to a professional level. We were very successful in doing this – and the change that we have experienced in the last nearly 30 years in public discourse on sustainability has been enormous. Today, our concept is totally in vogue – both socially and ecologically. Because for me, these two aspects have always been inseparably linked. After all, you can't work environmentally friendly and then not even pay minimum wages to the people in the supply chain.
Wirtschaftsforum: Are we currently in the harvest time of sustainable fashion?
Kirsten Weihe-Keidel: From my perspective, we need to differentiate more clearly. At Sense Organics, for example, we have been working only within certified frameworks for ages. In the past, there was still a global proliferation of certifications that were quite differently structured in individual markets. Nowadays, this is much more uniformly structured through international certifications like SA8000 (social accountability international). This is also recognized for the social standard in the production of Fair Trade. Thus, this could have also been recognized in the supply chain law. This way, customers can also make up their own minds about which providers really meet the high requirements they rightfully expect from their fashion, and which do not. Some brands, on the other hand, simply call themselves green without demonstrating appropriate certifications from external bodies – this, however, easily drifts into the undesirable corner of greenwashing.
Wirtschaftsforum: The Supply Chain Due Diligence Act is supposed to ensure that everyone complies with the rules. Did you welcome this amendment?
Kirsten Weihe-Keidel: Not necessarily. We have been meeting all the requirements through our certifications for quite some time. However, in over-bureaucratized structures and the associated volume of documentation requirements, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act is tailored to the resources and business fields of large companies. Smaller market participants must also capture these requirements in detail, which ultimately unnecessarily ties up working time. A sensible solution could have consisted, for example, in simply recognizing the high-quality standards in GEO and Social Accountability as a compliance proof – because these are not lightly awarded by the respective institutions. Moreover, every year our entire supply chain is inspected by certification bodies, from cultivation through manufacturing and logistics to our warehouse. Here too, for instance, certifications like GOTS, GRS, RWS – all international standards that we maintain in sustainability – could have been recognized. So, we have been doing everything that the law now also demands of us for a long time – only now we unfortunately have to document it again in an overly bureaucratic way.
Wirtschaftsforum: You want more flexibility?
Kirsten Weihe-Keidel: And less bureaucracy and thus leaner processes based on existing social, sustainable certifications – just as we live it day by day in the SME sector.
Wirtschaftsforum: Although the topic of sustainability has moved into the center of societal discourse, Fast Fashion remains an economic success model. How could this be ended?
Kirsten Weihe-Keidel: I believe that is a utopian notion. We must also be aware that in Germany many people live who rely on basic security and minimum wage, and the pensions are becoming slimmer rather than more generous. I cannot blame anyone who wants to afford something nice. But from my point of view, the trade-off between quantity and quality has shifted. Previously, many consumers were more willing to buy one or two items less, but opt for quality and detailed design, which lasts longer and is not immediately out of fashion. And associated with this, healthier for people and the environment. Education is already an important factor in schools to create more awareness that less can be more.
Wirtschaftsforum: People and the environment remain your central motivation almost 30 years after the founding of Sense Organics?
Kirsten Weihe-Keidel: That also applies to everyone else who works for Sense Organics. If we were to stop producing socially and sustainably tomorrow, most employees would quit. We remain committed by conviction.