OUR PRODUCTION PROCESS

For us at Nordwolle Rügen, sustainable production and sustainability of resources is paramount. Producing many products and then keeping them in stock and then possibly not being able to sell them all is unfortunately not very sustainable. This is why from the beginning we decided to produce only on demand or by order.

Here is a step by step explanation in detail on how our production process for our TAMBOR collection looks like.

WOOL OF GERMAN LAND SHEEP

Our resource, the wool of the grey-wool Pomeranian country sheep, comes from a large part of the district of Vorpommern-Rügen. There the sheep are used for maintaining the environment. Once a year the sheep are sheared. For example Frank Westphal one of our suppliers, shears his sheep in December before the sheep are stalled (keeping sheep in stalls). The time is chosen, among other reasons, so that the birth of the lambs is more hygienic. After shearing, the wool is still contaminated and has to be washed first, and it is sent to the wool laundry.

Watch the video.

WASHED IN Portugal

In 2009, the lights went out at the last German wool laundry in Bremen. Since then, there is no longer any possibility to have wool washed in Germany. That's why we have to go to Portugal for this step. The raw wool runs through large mechanical washing lines in the laundry, where it is degreased with soda and freed from dirt and dung residues. We deliberately do not carbonise the wool in this step, which makes the process more complicated, but preserves the natural properties of the wool. During carbonisation process, impurities and dung are dissolved out of the wool with the help of diluted sulphuric acid which deteriorates the natural qualities of the wool. This process requires a considerable amount of water.

To the video.

SPUN IN LUSATIA

The cleaned wool is then taken from the laundry to our state-of-the-art wool spinning mill in Lusatia. In the first step it is it is carded and then spun, carding helps to align loose fibres into a pile. In the next step, the pile is spun into a yarn. The cleaned wool is then taken from the laundry to our state-of-the-art wool spinning mill in Lusatia. The first step there is to card (comb) wool; carding process aligns the loose fibres into a pile. Then follows the spinning process where the pile of wool is spun into yarn.

To the video.

WOVEN AND MILLED IN BAVARIA

The Mehler cloth factory in Tirschenreuth in northern Bavaria was founded in 1644 and is now run by the 11th generation. This makes it the oldest cloth manufacturer in Germany and the only one existing for that matter.The first step in the process is to weave a cloth from the yarn on the loom; the woven cloth is then rolled into bolts of wool. In this thermo-mechanical process, the cloth is treated under high temperature with friction for up to 10 hours. This makes it dimensionally stable and extremely durable.

To the video.

CUT TO SIZE IN TEPLITZ

In large rolls, the fleece and bolts of wool are brought from the cloth mill to our factory in Teplitz, this is where millimetre-precise cutting using our high-tech CNC cutter takes place for all models of the TAMBOR collection and the fulling process of the 3dx collection.

To the video.

SEWN IN THE ERZGEBIRGE

Our perfectly prepared cuts are then sent our trusted sewing shop. The small manufacturer in the Erzgebirge lovingly hand sews together the blanks/pieces into finished jackets and jumpers. Here Irina demonstrates how this part of the process looks like.

To the video.

DOCUMENTED BY NDR

OUR HISTORY AND VISION

You want to follow the production steps in sound and vision? Then watch the two NDR documentaries about us.