As a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, hessnatur has a commitment to summarize the company’s approach to social standards in all areas of productivity, as well as project proposals and goals, in the form of an annual report to the FWF. This report is now available on our corporate website: How do we view social standards, and what do they encompass? Why do we produce in this country or the other? These questions and many more are addressed in the report, which has been given a new layout for this year.

We hope that our report further supports our efforts for transparency along our textile chain, as well as encourages a consciousness for the real value of a piece of clothing – with better knowledge of the kind of work that goes into a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, or a sweater.

The store is large, bright and has that “I’m at home” sort of touch about it. It harbors a bistro, a playground for the kids, and a beautiful garden. Had I not been on my way to an appointment, I would have lingered for some time in that garden.

After a warm welcome from store manager Cornelia Weber I was introduced to the showroom as a whole. In addition to showcasing ecologically fair clothing, the building itself has a lot to offer in the environmentally friendly department. The structure is composed of ecologically sustainable materials such as linoleum, wood from sustainable harvesting, and a rammed earth wall made from local materials, providing for stable temperature and humidity levels.

After familiarizing myself with the building, Ms. Weber lead me through all the departments, showing me the various types of clothing and textiles. Above all, the diversity and characteristics of materials was insane. I had them all in hand, and I must say that the fabrics felt simply fantastic to the skin. There was silk, wool (Merino and more…), cashmere, and of course cotton, all of the best quality. Then there was clothing made of unique blends like silk/linen.

At the end of the day, I was set loose in the men’s department and put together an entire outfit. The first stop on my “indoctrination tour” left me quite enlightened, and I’m looking forward to the rest of what’s awaiting me at hessnatur.

‘Til then, all the best!

Yours, David.

I watched the film “Babies” recently. The movie follows four babies from four differing countries, from birth to their first birthday. One child in the film is raised in Mongolia on a remote farmstead, and is tightly swaddled in cloth according to an old tradition.

I’ve learned that the ancient Greeks and Romans also wrapped their infants, although this seems to have been an attempt to prevent a contorted spine. The infants were very tightly wrapped and suffered under the circumstances. Ancient aboriginal peoples probably swaddled their babies with purely practical motives, making them easier to transport for a culture which was often on the move. We can only just speculate, though. No one can really know for sure.

Since we’re coming up to our due-date, I’ve been busily preparing for life-after-birth, as it were, reading lots and asking the advice of practiced parents. Friends of mine heartily recommended swaddling, which set me on a path of specialized research in that direction. Why should you swaddle a baby nowadays? We know now that imposed stretching is unhealthy, and as far as transportation goes we have buggies and baby carriages for every occasion and with every kind of doohicky imaginable. Besides, we’re not going out hunting anymore, except in the supermarket aisles. So why should we handily pack up the kid like we were ready for a quick getaway?

If you think about the fact that earlier parents didn’t have as much time to spend with an infant, it seems logical to swaddle a baby to keep her warm, quiet, and snug while you’re busy surviving. I can imagine it like this: a baby comes out of her mothers warm and trusted womb into an endless emptiness – our world. Her head, arms, and legs are no longer buoyantly cradled in a comforting bath of amniotic fluid. Rather they are strangely heavy. Like letting the warm bath water out and realizing that you actually weigh something. You suddenly feel yourself pushed into the hard ceramic by gravity. It starts getting cold, and the light goes on. But then you wrap yourself up in a nice warm towel and feel cozy and well again.

By swaddling, the arms and legs of a baby are wrapped against the body to prevent uncontrolled movement of the limbs, which can often startle the baby herself and wake her from a comforting sleep. They say swaddled babies cry less and sleep better because they feel more like they’re in the warm, snug safety of the womb.

Swaddling grants the infant a small trip back to the security of the womb. That newborn just came from nine months of the closest contact possible with the mother. Wherever I go, there always seems to be a mother with a baby buggy walking by. When I peer inside the buggy, there lies an infant which emerged from that intimate contact just a month or two before. And she’s lying all alone in the buggy. The baby was far closer to her mother and her mother’s environment in all that time in the womb, so why change things now? Carrying the infant directly against the body, swaddled in a sling, can give the baby a lot of that close contact back.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m sold on the subject, and hessnatur has some pretty cozy blankets in the diapering and swaddling section of their on-line shop which I’ve already got my eye on. But don’t just take my word for it. There are differing opinions about swaddling, and I would suggest that each expecting mother do some research on her own in order to make an informed decision.

We’re shooting for our new Fall/Winter collection (available starting July 2012 in our catalog and online shop) in Majorca at the moment. Also on location is the team from Lookbook, highlighting selected outfits from the collection in the midst of all the great landscape of the Balearic Islands. You can find first impressions of the set on our flickr photo album!

As cold as it’s been, I’ve learned to love hessnatur’s cotton maternity slip. When you’re wearing it, it really looks goofy – like a diaper with a tummy warmer built in – but the slip is gloriously warm, and that’s that. You don’t see them under all that maternity wear anyway. Perhaps the maternity slip would be even better as hot-pants – might keep the rear end a bit warmer?

To go with it, I ordered the matching cami. It’s pretty sheer and a bit short for my taste, with frills at the neckline which I personally don’t really like and are not that noticeable in the catalog (you can zoom in on-line, though). It would be nicer without the frills.

The lounge pants are comfy to wear and leave enough room for the tummy to grow. I think that’s really important, since I expect a lot of comfort in a pair of jogging pants. The jersey insert warms the tummy nicely because it really covers all that ‘real estate’. The legs end at the ankle so the seam doesn’t drag on the floor (although it might be really practical if it did, as you would have to vacuum less ). The fabric is unfortunately a little course on the skin and the velveteen coaxes every bit of lint off the carpet – but lint doesn’t bug me much, and there’s that vacuum advantage to think of.

At hessnatur’s latest sale I ordered myself a cardigan for the colder weather, and I’m absolutely delighted at how easy everything has become. Just slip it on, button up, and you’re warm. Since my jackets don’t fit me anymore, I just have the cardigan underneath and wear the jacket open. Because it’s really long, it keeps my legs quite warm as well.

No matter which cardigan you order, it’s simply the best piece of clothing for a pregnancy in winter!