Responsibility
Materials, manufacturing and transportation
Utua's leather products are made from leftover materials from food production. Leather hides are processed in Italy in a modern factory. Durable design, leather as material and high-quality sewing make Utua products long-lasting, which reduces their carbon footprint. Leather production in Italy takes place in accordance with the ISO14001:2015 environmental certificate and the ISO9001:2015 quality certificate. The skins come mainly from the Nordic countries.
Utua bags are sewn in a small family-owned atelier in Greece. The production is done by hand, so the bags are only made in small batches at a time. Utua clothes are made in a Finnish-owned factory in Portugal from GOTS-certified cotton and mulesing-free merino wool.
Already in the design phase of bags and clothes, we take into account the optimization of material efficiency and service life. The products are manufactured within the EU, so the transport distances are shorter than when importing from further afield.
Ethical and ecological values are important criteria for choosing our partners.
We want the manufacturing of our products to not burden the environment, so the modern processes of the factories, e.g. regarding water purification are important to us. We also require that our partners' employees have good and safe working conditions.
When selecting subcontractors and monitoring their activities, we consider it important that subcontractors operate in accordance with valid legislation and certificates in all their activities. We know our partners personally and can guarantee both the ethics of their operations and the legacy of skilled craftsmanship passed down through the families.
Design
Utua products are designed in Finland. Our design office, located in the middle of idyllic Vanhaa Raahe, has a design team responsible for the design of Utua's leather bags, clothes, accessories and jewelry.
Utua's roots are deep in the Northern Nordic landscape and soul life, and this is reflected both in our values and in our everyday activities. Finnish nature and history are strongly present in the design of our products. The Saaristo and Everyday Heroes collections have been born from historical stories. It is important for us to create products that last over time, save nature and are loved by the user.
