On Tuesday 22nd of September Eettisen kaupan puolesta RY (Eetti Ry) published their 2020 edition of their yearly Rank a Brand report of Finnish fashion brands. The report evaluates Finnish fashion brands on their sustainability and transparency and it's based on the NGO Rank a Brand. In this blog post we'll be talking about the report and our ranking in the report.

Eettisen kaupan puolesta ry (Eetti) is an NGO. Their goal is to promote sustainable and ethical global trade and production and to make sustainable consumption easier. Along with the yearly Rank a Brand report, Eetti researches and reports the responsibility practices- and communication of many industries, trains companies and individuals on sustainability matters and opens up important topics to consumers - from the importance of financing decisions to consumer habits all the way to industry specific issues. 

In the 2020 Rank a Brand report Eetti evaluated 35 Finnish fashion brands on their climate-,environment- and human rights work and the brands transparency on these matters. The brands were divided into five categories (A-E) based on a point system. The top two categories had 15 companies, which was 42% from all the brands in the report. Brändit on jaoteltu viiteen kategoriaan (A-E) niiden saamien pisteiden mukaan. The minimum points to the top 2 categories was 19 points and the maximum was 34 points. Last year only one brand reached the B category and none got ranked in the category A. 

This year Gugguu reached the second best category, level B.

We make decisions based on responsibility and sustainability every day at Gugguu. They have been one of the supporting values of our brand from day one - it's a no brainer for us that the materials we choose, the way we run our production and everything that has to do with running a brand, is based on responsible decisions for the planet and everyone living on it. We ensure this by ensuring that we choose materials that are not only eco-friendly but also durable to make sure that the lifecycle of the product is as long as possible, by sourcing new and innovative materials and by making sure that all human rights and fairness actualize in all of our departments. 

We are extremely happy with our ranking in this years report. During the year 2019 we focused on developing our reporting and transparency so we could offer our customers and other stakeholders in-depth knowledge on our responsibility and sustainability actions. With this development, our Responsibility report 2019 was created. In the report you can find detailed information of our production, sourcing and other factors along with goals and steps that we're taking to become an even more responsible and sustainable company. You can read the report in here. We also published our Code of Conduct, which you can read (in Finnish) here.

The discussion on the topics of responsibility and sustainability is extremely important. It's crucial to have third party organizations that research and report on these matters so that consumers have factual information that they can use in their purchasing decisions. We're thankful for Eetti Ry for the important work they do and we will continue to develop Gugguu into even more climate friendly, sustainable and ethical company day by day.

We appreciate our customers knowledge on sustainability and responsibility and them wanting to make better purchasing decisions based on these topics. We will keep holding onto our values of sustainability and transparency as founding blocks of Gugguu. 

Read the Gugguu Resposibility report 2019 here.

The Eetti Rank a Brand report in Finnish can be found here.

The new autumn-winter season is coming! At Gugguu we’ll be kicking off the season with the stunning Classic Collection.

White dress-and shirt: Wow Dress & Bow Shirt in Pearl White, pink shirt: Rizi Shirt in Vintage Rose, Print Leggings in Vintage Flowers and Print Flow Skirt in Parisian Dogs.

Classic Collection combines elegant powder tones to deeper, muted browns and yellows. The tones of the collection are fit to the name - classic and elegant. The single-colored items are easily combined to patterned clothes to bring a bit of an extra pop to an outfit! In the fun prints you can find musical dogs, puppies in wigs and pandas wearing glasses. If you enjoy the softer prints more, you’ll love the flowery patterns inspired by frost bitten meadows, pearls and roses.

Print Frilla Dress in Autumn Garden

There is a whopping five new designs in this collection, of which three are dresses. Rizi Dress was a summer favorite and now we introduce a long sleeved version of the dress in the Classic Collection. In the Mini Me Collection you saw the new Half Turtleneck poloshirt and this fall you’ll get to see a dress version of the product. Celia Dress is a stunning, fairy-like empire-line dress with long sleeves.

If you’re looking for new pants, the new Chino Pants are perfect for both formal situations and for everyday use. Basic Hoodie is a customer favorite and you can now find it in a lighter tricot jersey fabric. Read more about the new designs in our previous post, here.

New design: Celia Dress in Tanned Yellow

We’ve gotten a lot of requests to bring back the Glozz College sweater and the Basic Hoodie. We’re happy to tell you that in the Classic Collection both of these items are back! Both of the products are made from our soft college-material.

Customer favorite Basic Hoodie in Yellow.

Classic Collection has seven colors…

Black

Cocoa Bear

Cinnamon Sunset

Tanned Yellow

Vintage Rose

Satin Pink

Pearl White

...and seven prints. 

Morning Dew

Frozen Flower

Parisian Dogs

Jazz Dogs

Vintage Flower

Autumn Garden

Panda


There is a print for every taste. Parisian Dogs and Jazz Dogs are both fun, colorful prints with dogs. Morning Dew, Frozen Flower and Autumn Garden are delicate and classy floral prints in muted tones. Vintage flower is more colorful, filled with beautiful vintage items and dried roses. Panda is a cool black-and-white print with playful pandas accessorized with glasses.

White Leggings-and Rizi Shirt in Pearl White, Frilla Dress in Tanned Yellow, Print Frilla Shirt in Frozen Flower

Come and enjoy the first collection of the season! 🖤 

Get to know the collection here. 

We're launching the new Classic Collection on Tuesday the 4th of August at 6 GMT. In this post we'll take a deep dive into the new designs in the collection - there's a whopping five new items to fall in love with!

Basic Jersey Hoodie

The beloved Basic Hoodie has now gotten a little brother: Basic Jersey Hoodie. This new item is a lighter version of its older brother - Basic Jersey Hoodie is made from a light tricot jersey and instead of a pocket, the hoodie has symmetrical seam details from below the arms to the front of the hoodie. 

Celia Dress

The stunning Celia Dress is a fairy-like jersey dress. The dress has a loose empire cut and it fits quite loosely. The skirt is very flowy and spins beautifully! The perfect dress for children who enjoy looser shaped clothing. The neckline is round both on the front and the back. 

Chino Pants

Chino Pants are stylish and elegant pants for kids'. The pants have faux-pockets on the backside and front pockets on the front side. The pants are made from our comfortable soft college-jersey material. The pant leg is almost straight and they look great when cuffed. Perfect pants for both formal situations and for everyday use. 

Half Turtleneck Dress

Half Turtleneck Dress is a dress version of the Half Turtleneck shirt we introduced in our Mini Me Collection is SS20. This polo neck dress is an A-line dress with long sleeves and a moderate polo neck that feels comfortable. Made from tricot jersey.

Longsleeved Rizi Dress

The immediate favorite of the summer season 2020 was the Rizi Dress. This fall we're introducing a long sleeved version of this dress - perfect for the cooler weathers coming up. Round neckline on both sides. Adorable frilly details on both sides on the shoulders start from the middle of the back and come up on on the waistline. Moderate A-line skirt.

Summer is here and we're enjoying warm weather even in the north! The bravest of us have already dipped in the lakes and tiny kiddie pools have appeared in the backyards. It means it's time to find the perfect swimsuit! 

When the sun is warming up the minds and the bodies and gives us energy to carry on with our days, you still have to keep sun safety in mind. Both children and adults need to be protected from the sun, even on the cloudy days or cooler: the UV rays are still doing their damage, not minding the temperature or the grayness of the day. The skin on kids' and adults is a bit different and keeping the kids' protected is essential. UV-damage tends to build up from year to year, so minimizing the exposure as a child has a positive effect for years to come. Children's skin is also less developed, so the protective mechanisms are not ready for full sun exposure.  

There are many ways to protect the skin from sun damage and there are some ways that work better than others. Considering the UV-levels are the highest around 11 am to 3 pm, it's best to ether stay indoors or in shaded areas - remember to protect the skin even in the shade! The easiest way to keep the kids' protected is clothing, of which some loose cotton or cotton blends tend to be the best options. Keeping the head and the face covered with a brimmed hat or a cap is also important. At the beach or the pool a UV protective swimming suit is the best choice! 

Wheter you are spending some family beach time or the kids are enjoying in a pool, the amount of sun exposure is vast and often swimwear tends to be the only clothing item. The skin should be properly protected with a suncream. For a baby a set of covering clothes and being in the shade is the best option, but for older kids there are a lot of great solutions. When choosing a suncream that will be used on kids', look for "made for children" tags that ensure safer formulas. The higher the SPF is the better, and you want to make sure that the cream has both UVA-and UVB protection. Remember to add the cream on the skin around 30 minutes before going outside and keep adding every few hours - suncreams are not protective for ever and often it gets ether diluted by swimming, we sweat it out or rub it on towels. A good amount of suncream on a child is 20-30 ml or 7-10 fluid ounces.  

To minimize the need for suncream, choose a UV protective swimsuit for the kids. Long sleeves and a lot of fabric is always the easiest option, covering as much as possible.

All of our Gugguu swimsuits have an SPF 50. The protection is based on the denseness of the fabric, not a chemical process. In the spring 2020 we brought out new designs of the swimsuits: UV Swimsuit and UV Swimsuitdress. Both of the designs come with the option to choose from fresh colors or fun prints. Both of the swimsuits cover a lot of ground: long sleeves cover the arms, the back and the tummy are protected and in the UV Swimsuit you can find pantlegs up to the kenees. 

Why choose a UV-protective swimsuit? Kids' don't often love suncream, so when you have a protective swimsuit that covers a lot of skin, you have to apply less cream.The suit already covers up the areas that burn the easiest, like the shoulders, so you can put your mind at rest!

Check out all of our swimsuits in here.

Gugguu spring and summer season get's spiced up with the warm Safari Collection. This collection brings you to the beaches with hot sand between your toes, wild grass swishing in the warm, mellow wind and heat that can only be cooled by a generous serving of ice-cream. Warm, muted tones combine beautifully to the adorable prints. 

Within the collection you can find completely new designs. We introduced a T-shirt version of our beloved Frilla Dress in the Play Collection. This can now be found as a patterned version too. Kaila Dress, previously made from the thicker soft college-material you find in our hoodies, got a little sister from Kaila Jersey Dress that's made from a lighter tricot jersey. Bluebell T-shirt reminds the top of the new Bluebell Dress from the Play Collection - half sleeves and a round neckline make this T-shirt the perfect match with the lovely Print Culottes pants.

Accessorize the outfit with a lovely Bow hairband or the new Scrunchie Scarf, You can tie the scarf section to a bow or let it flow through the hair. 

While the spring is here and the nature starts waking up, we're already looking forward to the summer days at the beach. In preparation for the beach trips, make sure that the swimsuits for the little ones are protective - we launched a couole long sleeved swimsuit designs that help to keep the skin covered from the sun all day long without suncream on the areas the suit covers. All of our swimsuits have a SPF 50 protection that is based on the fabric density - not a chemical protection.

Safari Collection includes seven colors…

Ocean

Blue Moon

Summer Sky

Spicy Red

Sandstone

Cantaloupe

Latte

...and five prints. 

Hummingbirds

Safari Ride

Red Ornament

Puppies

Noble Cats

The patterns are all animal themed, with creatures from all over the world. Humminbirds are flying amongst orange flowers in the Hummingbirds print. Safari Ride is a literal safari ride in a pattern - tiger cubs, antilopes and other wild animals live their life in this pattern. Red Ornament is a stunning warm toned graphic pattern inspired by mandalas. Safari Collection has two adorable hand-drawn prints: Noble Cats and Puppies. Cute baby leopards-and tigers play around in Noble Cats. Puppies is a black and white print of puppies napping.

Check out Safari Collection here.

Gugguu Spring/Summer season starts with the fun Play Collection. This spring is kicked off with adorable pastel colors and the cutest animal inspired prints.

The collection has been inspired by summer moments, like ice cream kiosks, little dalmatian puppies playing on the grass and adventures in candyland. The bright colors are combined to calmer shades of white and black and fun prints, making the collection filled with combination possibilities!

The prints this spring are focused on animals and you can find different themes of animal life in different prints. In the fun black-and-white print you can see zebras and pandas playing around, in the blue toned print we take a look at sea animals. The pink print includes mockingbirds flying amidst flowers. In the dotted print you see little dalmatian puppies playing, with a splash of color from summery flowers. The lightest print has the dreamiest unicorns and delicate, pink and lilac toned flowers.

The Play Collection includes a wide variety of clothing for spring and summer, including outerwear. The first launch includes all jersey and tricot products.

The Collection includes a few new products. Rizi dress has gained popularity after sneak peeks in social media. It’s a tricot dress with adorable frilly shoulder detailing and an A-line skirt. The belowed Wow Dress is getting a little sister - a short sleeved model of the dress is perfect for the warm summer days. The all new Bluebell Dress is a simple and cute tricot jersey dress with ½ sleeve, round neckline and an A-line skirt.

The collection includes seven colors...

Black

Bluebell

Peppermint

Lavender

Bubble Gum

Banana

White Candy 

...and five prints.

Summer Dream

Dots & Spots

Pink Hummingbirds

Sea Life

Baby Animals

You can find all the Play Collection products here!

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.

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.

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!