Sustainable outdoor clothing that makes kids spend more time in nature

As kids spend too much time indoors and in front of screens, they lack connection with nature, leading to careless behavior towards nature and a higher chance of getting mental health issues. "You only protect things you love," says Franz Bittmann, Founder of namuk. So, what if they spent so much time outdoors that they could understand and appreciate nature and develop an intrinsic wish to protect planet Earth? What if they reduced their screen time and be more in nature, helping to encourage creativity and reduce mental illness? The founder of namuk presume that comfortable, functional, and lasting clothing that persists in friction and weather conditions will motivate parents and their kids to spend longer hours in nature together. "We do everything to get the kids out of the house more often. Longlasting clothing is our contribution to that", explains Bittmann.

How it all started for namuk

namuk was founded in 2016, but it started as a hobby. "When me and my wife were talking about starting a brand for high-quality kids' outdoor clothing, people told us that we are crazy and nobody would pay for it," says Bittmann. So, I decided to start this project as a side hustle. The sales took off faster than expected, against all predictions. So, I turned it into a business and stopped designing and consulting for other brands and companies.

Interestingly, even after all the successes in Switzerland, when discussing expanding to Germany and the US, again, people doubted that it would work out. Now, namuk's revenue in the German and the US market is growing at a fast pace.

A Commitment to Sustainability

namuk's core ethos revolves around sustainability. The company is committed to minimizing its ecological footprint at every stage of the production process. From the sourcing of sustainable materials to the production using eco-friendly dyes and chemicals and optimized supply chains to avoid waste and excessive emissions in distribution, namuk prioritizes eco-friendly practices.

Most importantly, namuk is designed to last long, so it doesn't get wasted, like clothing from cheaper brands. "When we can avoid that we need to produce new clothing over and over again, we can save a lot of energy as up to 78 percent of CO2 emissions related to clothing is released in its production", explains Bittmann. For this reason, namuk has initiated his own secondhand store “namuk Re-use” to ensure namuk clothing is used as long as possible. When kids outgrow the clothing size, namuk repurchases it, rehashes it, and re-sells it as secondhand. While most people may think that long-lasting clothing means fewer recurring customers and therefore less revenue, this is not true according to Bittmann: "Our secondhand store makes a decent percent of our annual revenue and its growing fast."

namuk successfully received financing for its business growth. "We are proud to be the only textile company that the Technology Fonds has invested in us when they usually support highly scalable technology companies," says Bittmann. "Also, receiving financing from UBS boosted our confidence and shows that the potential in our niche business gets acknowledgment." Receiving a loan from UBS is a long way, as start-ups first need to gain the SEF.Growth label. The SEF.Growth program is like a due diligence process where the company is viewed from a neutral perspective with a rational understanding of making business. This means also having to answer difficult questions and receive constructive criticism. "At the end of this process, we received a 60-page document that screens our business and is full of insights and inputs from the SEF.Growth experts. I look at it every now and then to make use of all this know-how. It's really valuable."

namuk recommends SEF.Growth program

Like most SEF.Growth participants namuk applied to the program to get financing from UBS. But it wasn't the only reason to become part of the program. "The outer perspective on our business was precious. I appreciate a lot the support from UBS and the SEF.Growth team. The Growth Label, Swiss Economic Forum, and UBS work together to effectively support young, growing Swiss companies. I recommend this to every start-up founder who has the opportunity to become part of the SEF.Growth program."