Guaranteed not imported from Asia

Working conditions in global production

Working conditions in manufacturing vary enormously around the world. Human rights organisations and the media regularly report serious abuses in production countries in Asia: working days of 12 to 14 hours, hardly any days off, and accommodation in shared dormitories that workers may only enter and leave at set times. There are also reports of physical and verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and wages that are often too low to live on and are sometimes paid late. Child labour has also been uncovered repeatedly in the past.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh in 2013, which housed five garment factories, brought the issue to worldwide attention. Since then, trade unions, inspections and legal requirements have improved in some places. That does not mean, however, that conditions for workers have noticeably improved everywhere.

Is "Made in the EU" automatically better?

Not automatically. In the EU, employment law, collective agreements and trade unions give workers a legal minimum level of protection. But here, too, there are companies that do not follow the rules. What matters is who you work with.

How we at Hofmeister Holzwaren choose our manufacturers

For us, one thing was clear: good and bad production conditions exist everywhere. That is why we rely on manufacturers we know. We have worked with most of our partners, mainly family-run businesses, for more than 30 years. We have visited many of them on site to see their production facilities, working conditions and craftsmanship for ourselves.

Our decision is firm:

• No imports from Asia: None of our wooden products come from Asia.
• Domestic and European woods: Most of the wood we use comes from Germany and other European countries, for example beech, maple, birch, oak, alder, ash, cherry and lime. The exception is olive wood, which currently comes from Tunisia. We do not use tropical woods.
• Short distances: Apart from our olive wood items, our products are made in Germany and other European countries.
• Direct contact: We deal directly with our manufacturers, with no middlemen and no language barriers. This means we can respond quickly to any quality issues.
• Craftsmanship: Our many years of experience show that our partners reliably meet our standards of craftsmanship.