Never Give up

Most of you already know the story of how it all began. But I bet few people know that my journey started much earlier. I started my relationship with entrepreneurship in my 20s. In the last 8 years I have tried to start several companies. Most of them failed. Then I began to realize that my main goal was not to do business. I am a terrible businessman. But I am very creative when it comes to solving problems, developing ideas and implementing them. No, I’m not a famous founder on the Forbes list and no, I never got millions in funding and no, my parents are not rich. I had to learn all the lessons the hard way.

And now we are here. Blue Ben is founded and we have come to stay. I never gave up, did not pay much attention to the critics, never let the past determine my future. A great team, a unique product and a wonderful community naturally contribute to our modest success.

Why am I telling you this? Quite simply, because I am very proud of what we have created and I will not let it be talked down by people who think they have to criticize or dismiss us as the 1000 fashion label. No, because we have all put too much time, love and knowledge into this idea, which will show the industry new ways.

There are some hurdles, changes and unfortunately also delays that we do not want to withhold from you. As things stand, we will probably be able to deliver the sweaters to you in October. Of course, we apologize for the delays and continue to hope for your patience, understanding and loyalty.

Kickstarter

At the end of October our international Kickstarter campaign starts. We will offer 2 new colors for this. Ashrose #Natural and Curry Lemon #Bold.

Biodegradable — yes, compostable — no

There are two options to fully guarantee compostability.
№1, a Cradle to Cradle certificate or an analysis in a free laboratory. We chose the latter because it’s cheaper and less complicated.
But since the costs still amount to almost 4,500 €, we have currently decided against this analysis. Because of the raw materials, we are convinced that an analysis would be positive but can not prove it without it and therefore do not want to communicate it officially.

Sewing thread (delay reason №1)

Here we had extreme difficulties finding alternatives to cotton and polyester yarns. Both are international standards and alternatives are still in their infancy. Fortunately, after nearly 5 months of searching, we found a Tencel yarn that does not tear and actually works for our purposes. Yeah!

RIBs (delay reason no. 2)

As mentioned above, we had to rework the cuffs again. We tried without Elasthan but had to see that it was qualitatively not up to our expectations. That is why we have gone on a long search for alternatives, so as not to jeopardize compostability. There is only one alternative worldwide and it comes from Japan. The organic elastane Roica V550 is Cradle to Cradle Gold certified and is now used for our sweaters. It’s way more expensive than regular elastane, so the cuffs had to be tested a few times before we finally decided to do it. The result can be more than seen and felt. Yeah, up two!

Conversation Starter

Here we also had to re-adjust the arrangement. We have now found an optimal solution that makes it easier to lose weight during washing. The ripstape is made of viscose and comes from Japan. We have not found a Grossgrain or Woven label that comes from Europe and contains no polyester. If someone can help us with that, we are happy to approach you.

Design changes

We replaced the printed strip on the Gull Gray Sweaters (#Natural) with the armband because the strip would have diluted the branding. For all sweaters the armband is still removable. However, the conversation is thereby rather prevented. Therefore please do not lose weight, but wear it with pride! :)

Pick-up pop-ups in Berlin and Hamburg

In October, we are finally planning pick-up pop-ups. There all pre-orderers can pick up their sweaters, try them on and possibly exchange them for another size. Of course, everyone else is welcome to attend the interesting roundtable discussion.

Post for you

All pre-orderers will shortly receive mail regarding the ordered sizes. So do not forget to look in the mailbox, dear ones!

Thank you for your patience

Best wishes from Berlin

Ali Azimi

previous Story: Made for Bangladesh

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