Problem addressed
Humana Nova provides an answer to three burning problems of today's society: Integration of socially marginalized people into (working) society; Disposal of textile surpluses and care for the planet; Investing profits in further development.
- Textile production and textile consumption have one of the highest impact on environmental and climate change. The sustainable solution at the state level doesn’t exist and most of the textile ends up in landfill.
- Marginalized people often have difficulties finding and keeping a job, which makes it difficult for them to live a decent life and be part of the society.
- Instead of reinvesting in the well-being of workers and sustainable practices, profits are typically distributed to few stakeholders.
Innovative solution
- Humana Nova has found alternative solutions for textile waste disposal and textile production and affected several problems in the community with its business. First and foremost, we promote sustainable production and consumption of fashion. In our production we use locally supplied and eco certified materials and produce amounts of clothes according to the needs of the market, in wholesale and in retail. Few times in a year we release mini redesign and upcycled collections where uniqueness and functionality are in the first place. This practice is a sustainable way to give new life to clothes that might otherwise end up in landfills. Through our mini redesign collection, products and work in general we educate about sustainable fashion, slow fashion, fair trade, work dignity and the power of one’ s choice. Another fashion solution we provide is second-hand shop where people can buy used clothes. Secondly, we provide a textile waste solution. Considering that we collect textile, we have several solutions for textile waste management. All the usable textile we sell second-hand and the rest we sort further. After separating cotton for industrial cloths, the rest we recycle in cooperation with our partner Regeneracija non-wovens.
- Our business provides a decent work place for 56 employees, from which 32of them are people with disabilities (physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, visually impaired people, hearing impaired people, multiple sclerosis, cerebral paralysis, etc.) and 20 are from other socially marginalized groups of people (long-term unemployed people, people with lower level of education, Roma nationality, elderly, etc.). We believe that livable wages, freedom in expressing creativity (products designed by workers), equality, not working with harmful substances and working without the time norm is enabling the work life balance everyone deserves. Humana Nova built its identity as a brand which promotes fair labor practices, fair wages, creates a supportive work environment and where cooperation, teamwork and meaningful work are encouraged. The individuality and value of each person is respected. Workers are provided with the professional support of a social worker, whose role is to empower employees and provide psychosocial support in solving their life challenges.
- What we invest in is the development and expansion of our waste management model and in employing socially marginalized people. Humana Nova is financed mostly working on the market (national and international) and selling its products and services. By selling environmentally friendly products and services, we make resources to reinvest in an infrastructure whose model of collection, reuse and remake could be transferred to other goods.
By connecting responsible production of textile goods and circular textile waste management, we have established a sustainable and innovative business model which promotes sustainable fashion and corporate social responsibility in the open market.
Key results and benefits
The benefit for nature and people is measurable: people from marginalized groups of people got an opportunity to work and have a decent life. Also, more than 4500 tons of textile have been removed from landfill. Textiles are collected in cooperation with utility companies, through citizen donations and organized campaigns in cooperation with educational institutions. All collected textiles can be reused or recycled in some way. This gives citizens and the community a solution for textile waste disposal and an example that can be transferred to other types of goods. Education has an important part here, so Humana Nova creative workshops or organized campaigns for textile collecting are interesting to educational institutions and other organizations. Through creative workshops on textile recycling, children develop creativity, and motor skills, learn basic sewing skills, and create new value from discarded textiles. Lectures on socially responsible business are interesting for companies, where Humana Nova can serve as an example.
Our sewing center is dedicated to producing and selling innovative textile products from locally sourced and eco-certified materials for domestic and foreign markets. It consists of the tailor centre and sewing centre where manager of the sewing centre and seamstresses are working according to production planning. The creative team of the sewing centre creates new values from discarded textiles.
Through years, the number of marginalized people that Humana Nova employs is on the constant rise. The promotion of fundamental values through organizational culture and support contributes to self-confidence of the employees and increases the quality of life of socially excluded people. In this way, Humana Nova indirectly had a positive impact on big numbers of families and on a better quality of life in the community.
Due to the reinvestment of the profit and the diversification of the market, Humana Nova has a sustainable business model.
Owners of cooperative are 23 current workers and 3 NGOs of people with disabilities from Međimurje County. For them it is an opportunity to make decisions about the course of the business, which has positive impacts on their self-esteem and results in additional motivation at work and life in general.
Potential for mainstreaming
Textile waste is an equally big problem all around the world and numbers of textile surpluses are growing. Our textile waste management model is a solution that is effective and can be implemented at the local and the national level. Except transferring it on other communities, the waste management model which includes reuse, repair (upcycle) and recycle can be transferred to other goods. When it comes to marginalized groups, their difficulties finding employment can be solved by giving them the chance to work in this waste management model. That’s why Center for Work Integration is at the top of their mission. The existing business model is transferable to other geographical areas but implies new investment. For now, all the expansion we’ve been making was by our own effort on the market following the rules of regular companies.
