From Aichin's small production facility we go to Mr. Ding, who we have also known for a long time. He is committed to hemp fiber, just like Claudia Lanius was over 20 years ago. His GOTS-certified factory is impressive and he is planning to build a hemp museum next to the production facility. After visiting the factory, it is clear that we will expand our business relationship and that the tough Chinese businessman is our ideal partner when it comes to hemp.
Arrival
We fly directly from Frankfurt to China. Almost nine million people live in the Olympic city of Qingdao. There we are welcomed by our long-time production partner and friend Aichin.
What we see of the city on this day at the end of October is very tidy and touristy: lots of people with children, liveliness and economic growth are palpable in this city. Huge boats are moored at the harbor - status symbols of those who are part of the boom.
We enjoy our arrival and Aichin takes us to places where we can experience the Chinese flair in the big city with its traditional old town. She shows us how people maintain their culture in the chaos of high-rise buildings. Tai Chi is practiced in the squares, the smells and the food help us settle in quickly after the flight.
Our company is exemplary
On the first day of work, we visit Aichin's small GOTS-certified production company, with which we have been working since 2008. Their company has now moved to a new factory building for the fifth time. This is partly because Aichin rents factory space because they want to remain flexible and agile. But they are also at the mercy of the Chinese state - if the state decides to relocate the entire industry, for example for the Olympic Games, Aichin's factory will also have to move.
The new location is beautiful - the 40 or so employees are beaming, music is playing, it is bright and friendly. I recognize many faces here from previous visits. A true pioneer in many respects, Aichin has integrated anthroposophical ideas into her Chinese production. She accompanies us on our entire journey.
Our days are full of visits
Next we go on to an unannounced visit to a small knitting factory. It quickly becomes clear that we will not choose this production facility as a partner: there is no extraction system in the premises and therefore there is a lot of dust in the air. Once again it becomes clear how important personal visits and direct contact with the people on site are so that you can get a first-hand impression of the sites. In the afternoon we experience the exact opposite of this operation.
We arrive at a factory village that employs a total of 22,000 people. An unbelievable dimension. The state-owned factory produces jersey knits for well-known fast-fashion companies. State-of-the-art vacuum ventilation systems ensure that the halls are dust-free and we learn that gigantic quantities - around 100 tons - of jersey are produced every day. With our quantities and our demands on the added value of the materials, we obviously won't be able to do business here.
Strict government requirements
We continue on to Hangzhou, a city further south in China - the hub for all things silk. We visit our local agent and the wet factory where our silk fabrics are dyed and printed.
China places very high demands on companies when it comes to dealing with wastewater. We are impressed because everything is recorded, measured and transmitted digitally: every wet operation must be connected to the state inspection office. Relevant values, such as the pH value of the wastewater, are not recorded weekly or daily, but permanently. If a company exceeds the prescribed guideline values, it is closed. It is clear how much the country is trying to improve its negative image as a production country.
On the way to Zhenjang with the high-speed train
As exciting as the journey is, these days are also exhausting. We are on the move a lot, cover long distances using different means of transport, sometimes we don't know where and when we can eat something, and there are face and finger checks everywhere.
The journey on the high-speed train to Zhenjang is nevertheless very exciting. The station is more like an airport, everything is very organized: passengers only get to the respective platform fifteen minutes before departure. There is no crowding, people wait patiently in lines. The carriages are very large and the train is so fast, so quiet and so floating that we don't even have the feeling of being on a train. We drive past dozens of glittering, tall buildings, many industrial buildings and an incredible number of people. One huge city follows the next.
Buddhist tranquility and Italian know-how
After arriving in Zhejiang, we visit our next production partner the next day. The large knitting factory is located a little way away from the megacities and on the way we see smaller towns and temples.
A beautiful tree garden with water features welcomes us in the forecourt of the factory. What awaits us inside is really special: planted walls, a minimalist feel-good atmosphere, large water basins and a beautiful meeting room.
We meet Mr. Massimo, whom we already met at the fabric fair in Munich. He greets us warmly and explains that "Massimo" is the Italian version of his complicated Chinese name. He worked for ten years with an Italian who gave him a lot of know-how. Mr. Massimo is one of those people who simply impress me with their calmness and their karma.
We immediately notice how important this personal contact is. No website, no email, no video conference can replace this form of meeting. Luca and Justin, our Sales and Sales Overseas Managers - and Bella, our wonderful contact person on site, play a key role in making us feel at ease.
We are the first German company to enter into a collaboration with Mr. Massimo and his company. We are also proud that we have managed to switch our bouclé coat with this production facility - to a GOTS-certified product from controlled organic animal husbandry. We and our producers have always failed at this so far and my initial skepticism has given way to the certainty after this visit that the people working here love their work and treat wool with great respect.
In the production halls we see impressive machines and clever solutions in the area of material upgrading - the wool is roughened with real thistles, for example. This brings us back to the origins of LANIUS - to the vision of a good feeling on the skin and a clear conscience.
And there is something else that really impresses us: there is a pleasant calm in every production hall. The calm that Mr. Massimo, who originally comes from Tibet and is a Buddhist, brings to the entire production process is simply soothing. The paths between the individual machines are twice as wide as in other production sites. This space gives the people who move and work there the opportunity to move the goods sensitively - all of this makes us incredibly happy.
Once again, it is a completely contrary picture to the prejudiced China and has shown that it is worth searching.
