Photo: www.manomama.de
At Manomama, there are fair wages and permanent contracts
The social entrepreneur Sina Trinkwalder has set up the fashion company "Manomoma" in Augsburg, where very well-paid seamstresses produce ecologically exemplary dresses. It proves that fair wages are economically viable.
Sina Trinkwalder turns the German economy upside down. Minimum wage? She pays more. The entrepreneur founded the textile company "Manomama" in Augsburg, where seamstresses earn at least ten euros an hour. "My employees should be able to afford what they produce themselves!" No SOS note will be sewn into the clothing here, as happened recently with Primark.
Sina Trinkwalder is all about pride, fairness, mutual respect - so to prove with her fashion company Manomama that it is possible to produce high-quality and ecologically sustainable clothing in Germany AND at the same time to pay employees properly and to treat them well.
Spontaneously a day off? Sure, of course!
Its 150 employees - mostly older women, single mothers and people with disabilities - have permanent contracts and working hours are very flexible. From 6 am to 10 pm, the production hall is open, during which time every employee can work freely. For example, if a colleague feels sickly, she can quickly reduce her weekly working hours until she feels better. So Sina Trinkwalder wants to make the compatibility of work and family as easy as possible for their employees.
"When my employees feel comfortable, they are more productive. Quality increases, we can sell more, so we can afford better wages, the purchasing power of employees increases and they can in turn boost the economy. It is a logical circuit that should be normal in every business, "explains the innovative entrepreneur.
Sina Trinkwalder wrote down her experience as a social entrepreneur in the book "Wunder muss muss man machen".
Each button is produced ecologically
Especially is the ecological production way. The clothes produced at Manomama are fully compostable. Only ecologically produced substances are used. Each thread, each button and each label consists of degradable material that is supplied for example by a weaving mill in Osnabrück and a dyeing plant in the Swabian Alb.
Reminder because of too much laughter
What is the mood in this particular company? Sina Trinkwalder laughs loudly. "Come over and have a look, I'd rather let others judge how it is here. I can tell you an anecdote. We have just received a warning from the property management - my ladies are singing and laughing too much at work. "There is no management at Sina Trinkwalder, she reports. "This is a juxtaposition, not a tandem, the atmosphere is relaxed and respectful."
The seamstresses present the clothes themselves
The collection, which is produced in the large, bright hall in Augsburg, is still quite manageable. She is obviously lovingly made for that. If you look at the model photos of Manomama, do not look drought, pretty girls - but happy-looking employees of Manomama! Next to the pictures you can see who is on the picture, for example "Mirjam (T-shirt seamstress) wears S with a height of 1.65 m".
In fall, there is a couture collection
"My employees are proud of their products, because each one manufactures a piece completely from start to finish, instead of just repeating a single production step. That's why they should also show the clothes themselves on the product photos. We want to bring the people who normally stay in the invisible, forward, show what they can! "That's why there are no well-known designers at Manomama. The clothes, which can be seen in the shop, were developed by the seamstresses. In autumn, the current casual collection will be expanded to include a couture collection.
They taught themselves how to sew
By the way, the seamstresses of Manomama are not long-trained sewing experts, but women who did something completely different before becoming a member of Sina Trinkwalder's company. "I work with women who dropped out because they were pregnant. Or because of the children have long quit the job. Or older people, who toiled for many years and were subsequently downgraded to 400 euros. Sewing we taught ourselves. "At Manomama, people get a chance that's hardly in demand on the regular job market. If you can only afford very little, you may get less money, but you may even get another chance at employment.
The colorful bags for dm are also sewn at Manomama.
Sina Trinkwalder was fed up with the advertising industry
Before Sina founded Trinkwalder Manomama, she worked very successfully in the advertising industry. She made a lot of money, could afford luxury like expensive cars. But with each passing day, she became more aware that society "carelessly deals with people if they do not work." Many business practices seemed wrong to her. "I did not feel like it anymore. I wanted to try to give my son and his generation what was reasonably alright in my childhood: a world in which not only money and greed counted. "The idea for a textile company was obvious, because Augsburg was one for a long time Stronghold for textile production before the companies shifted production to low-wage countries.
The wages are not pressed
Sina Trinkwalder wanted to create a company where employees would be treated with dignity - and she did it. Manomama is developing well. This is also due to the consequence of the entrepreneur. Customers who want to negotiate prices make it very clear to them that they will neither press wages nor dump the fabric suppliers. Nevertheless, the garments of Manomama are not expensive: a black dress for 50 euros, a chic skirt for 20 euros, which is well affordable. How Manomama does it? "It all works if you reduce your profit margins, " explains Sina Trinkwalder.
Manomama should only be the beginning
And what does such a successful entrepreneur wish for the future? "For me, Manomama is just the beginning. I want to continue, there is still a lot to do. "
PS: Latest news from Manomama is available on the Facebook page.
