Within the Mini Me Collection we introduced a new material to our selection: a tracksuit material made out of 100% recycled raw materials. There are two types of tracksuit fabric in the collection - the printed version and the mono colored version. The fabrics are made of recycled polyester, recycled nylon and recycled elastane. In this blog post we will be going through the materials in more depth. We will also be sharing the different types of certificates the fabrics have and their requirements.

Check out the new products here!

Materials

The printed track jackets- and pants are made of a mixture of polyester and elastane. The mono colored ones are made of a mixture of nylon and elastane. 

The finishing processes and the dying of the materials is also done in nature-friendly manners. The goal throughout the whole production is to keep the production process as neutral for the nature as possible and that the end products are truly safe to use.

Recycled elastane

Both the printed and the mono colored fabrics use recycled elastane. The elastane we use has been recycled in Germany and it’s GRS-certified. The thread is born by collecting the industrial surplus of elastane thread, separating them from the paper tubes and by spinning them again. This process helps to reduce the amount of industrial waste and gets the perfectly fine materials into active use. The process has also been optimized for a low need for water by creating a water flow system that uses the same water over and over again. 

Recycled polyester

The recycled polyester used in the printed track jackets- and pants is made of recycled PET-plastic that is gathered from used plastic bottles. The material is GRS-certified. For every kilo of PET, three kilos of CO2 is saved. Along with this, the production saves approximately half of the amount of energy compared to a non-recycled version. The coloring and finishing processes are done during the spinning process, which is a more nature friendly option compared to traditional processes. 

Creating thread from a plastic bottle is surprisingly simple. The bottles are collected and cut into pieces. After this the plastic is grinded and melted, and then cooled into regular shaped pieces. After this the material is melted again and made into polyester fibers that are then spinned into thread.

Recycled nylon

The recycled nylon used in the track jackets- and pants is SCS Global Standard- and GRS certified. 

The recycled nylon comes from Spain. It’s made out of industrial surplus by spinning the nylon polymers into thread. This lowers the CO2 impact by 53% and decreases the amount of industrial waste created. 1000 kilos of recycled nylon decreases the CO2 impact by 1424 kilos, which is roughly the amount of driving 8544 km.

Certificates

Global Recycled Standard - GRS

GRS-certificate is an international standard that requires certain things both in the production system, in the product itself and also in the company policies. The requirements are to do with recycling, the amount of recycled materials in products, chemical limitation and the ethics of the  production process. 

The certificate can be applied, if the product at hand contains at least 50% recycled materials. This is not the only requirement - the whole company is looked at through the working conditions, social responsibility and the environmental hazard minimizing acts of the company. The companies and products receiving the certificate are followed through out even after receiving the certificate and the certification are valid for one year at a time.

SCS Global Standard

SCS Global Standard is a party that follows environmental friendliness of many industries and product types. The nylon used in the track jackets- and pants is on SCS Global Standardin certified, so SCS Global Standard has gone through the whole production process and found the processes to meet its standards. The standards are high: the transparency of the production, the sourcing, the products age, the usability of the product, company recycling and waste management systems - and many more.

The Bluesign® system

The Bluesign® system is an environmental party that functions in the textile industry. The Bluesign® system certifies products and companies based on their efforts on creating textile products with the lowest possible environmental impact. The Bluesign® is an active environmental advocate, that supports textile companies on their way to more environmentally friendly production processes. The company manufacturing the fabrics used in our track jackets and track pants is a The Bluesign® system partner and they actively co-operate with the organization.

Check out the new products here!

In this blog post we tell you a bit more of one of our staple materials: merino wool. The merino wool Gugguu uses comes from New Zealand and it is sheared in Germany and it’s completely mulesing-free.

In this article you will find information on merino wool, such as:

• What is merino wool?
• What makes merino wool special?
• How to take care of merino wool products?

What is merino wool?

Merino wool is a specific wool from Merino sheep, grown especially in Australia and New Zealand. Merino sheep are highly valued - the wool has been highly appreciated for centuries and for a good reason. 

What makes merino wool special?

Merino wool fibres are exceptionally fine and soft - the fibers are longer and thinner compared to traditional wool from sheep. The fibers are great for kids - merino wool is often more tolerated with people who find other types of wool, such as traditional wool and mohair, itchy. It feels more like cotton, but it contains the great features of wool.

Merino wool is a great material for the winter conditions: the little air pockets in the wool hold on to air and keep you warm. If you sweat, the heat is absorbed an let go by the merino wool, so the fabric breathes. This ensures that if you sweat or get wet in a cold environment, you still keep warm!

Merino wool also includes antimicrobial properties, thanks to the keratin and lanolin found in the wool. This combined with the breathability of the material makes sure that your clothes and accessories made of merino wool stay smelling fresh even if you sweat in them.

How to take care of merino wool products?

Merino wool should be conditioned with love - so no harsh chemicals and rough procedures are advised.

Taking care merino wool is easy, just keep in mind these few rules!

1. No washing machine. We advise to not use a washing machine when washing Gugguu merino wool products, but instead to wash them by hand. You should use lukewarm water because hot water might shrink wool products. Don’t soak for a long time.
2. Detergents. Do not use fabric softeners or products containing bleaching ingredients. These ingredients affect the fibers negatively and take away some of the great benefits of merino wool. Do use a mild detergent. 
3. Do not dumble dry. Prefer air drying, away from direct sunlight and heat.
4. Reshape products while damp.
5. Iron on low if needed.

With these simple rules you can have your merino wool products stay looking and feeling beautiful for years, enjoying all the great benefits of using merino wool!

Gugguu Wild Animals Collection 2019

The first drops of Gugguu AW19 is getting company - the new Wild animals- collection continues with the earthy colors and prints inspired by the Finnish forests. Alongside with the previous rich tones of oranges and browns, we are introducing stunning berry-tones and frosty blues - the color scheme is like from a fairytale! As we go to winter, the frostbitten lingonberries and light first snow on top of the last wild raspberries have been the inspiration behind this collection. 

You can now spot the bravest and the most beautiful wild life of the Finnish nature in different scenarios; the strong and powerful bears with their tiny cubs, wolves howling in the night and the wide-eyed deers surrounded by the wise owls of the woods. 

The Wild Animals- collections includes college- and tricot products, a print collection and all of our classic merino wool accessories. 

The stunning college products have all been made with a brand new soft jersey knit material, that feels amazingly soft on the skin. The tricot collection includes a whopping two new designs: a long sleeved version of Rizi and a tricot version of the beloved Kaila shirt. Both of the new products are perfect to combine with the new printed leggings!

The collection has five colors...

• Stormy Sea                  
• Cloud Blue
• Rhododendron
• Rose Wine
• Coral Blush

...and four prints.

• Magic Forest
• Sweet flowers
• Nightfall
• Honey Paw

Check out the full collection by clicking here!

The spookiest season is here - Halloween! We at Gugguu are celebrating the All Hallows' Day with a special Halloween-themed collection filled with inspiring orange and black colors and eerie designs for the little ones. Along with our special collection we invited Gugguu customers to our showroom in Pirkkala, Finland, to see the collection and enjoy some lovely autumnal treats.

Battie shirt

The special Halloween collection was inspired by a true need - the fall is filled with chilling dress-up parties at schools and daycares, with little witches and ghosts running around. These parties require dressing up, but many parents long for outfits that can be easily transformed into clothes for everyday life or holiday parties long after Halloween - after all, many of our closets and cupboards are already filled to the brim and we want to discourage throw-away culture with our actions. The Halloween collection has been made of surplus materials ensuring the most ecological processes possible. 

Kitty-hoodie

The Gugguu Halloween collection is a fun, orange and black collection with wicked detailing. 

The tulle dress is the perfect outfit for little witches, combined to a witches hat of course, but it can be easily transformed into a beautiful dress for Christmas or to the sparkle of New Year’s Eve! 

A cat is a classic in the dress-ups of the autumnal festivities. The Kitty Jumpsuit is a terrific option for a cat outfit - finish off the outfit with a face paint whiskers and the little kitty is ready for the celebrations! Don’t forget to keep the hood on to show off the cat ears. After Halloween you can simply use the jumpsuit as an indoors outfit.

Kitty Jumpsuit

The whole team of Gugguu wishes you a spooky Halloween!

GUGGUU FALL/WINTER 2019

The Gugguu fall and winter collection 2019 is filled with earthy, rich colors that together with warmer, softer shades embody the essence of a forest during the most beautiful time of the autumnal season. This is where the inspiration for this collection has been drawn from: the colorful leaves and the foggy, crispy mornings. 

Frilla-dress in Sky Blue ja Print Frilladress in the print Fall Pampas.

The earthy colors remind the last moments of fall, when the nature gets prepared for the upcoming winter and spends the last moments in the glory of brightly colored red, orange and brown leaves and berries. These colors are well-matched with pine cone brown, the dark emerald green of moss and dark blue of the night sky. 

Go'on Bomber // Print Flow skirt // Cube Baggy

Unisex body 62-74 cm // Unisex body 80-86 cm 

The beautiful prints pair with the colors perfectly and they match together in many possible ways. The print collection has been strongly inspired by nature in all of it's beauty - Pampasgrass, owls and foggy landscapes paint a beautiful picture of the fall season. You can find the rich prints in many color schemes, all the way from the soft Harvest Vibes to the darker scenery of Night Forest.

Go'On Bomber in Sky Blue // Print Flow skirt in Fall Pampas