Who Made Your Clothes, part 8, Omniteksas

This article series by Varusteleka is part of the global Fashion Revolution Week, a campaign that aims at making the sourcing, manufacture, and sales of clothes more ethical and transparent. We believe that this is a damn good thing and thus we were very happy to participate in it for the second time now in 2021.

During this campaign week, we continue the series that introduces our partners and their fantastic gang that makes your clothes and accessories. In this eighth part, you will meet UAB Omniteksas from Lithuania.

Omniteksas makes your merino wool clothes and accessories

UAB Omniteksas is a jersey and ready-to-wear garment manufacturer based in Lithuania. They have been making our Särmä and Särmä TST Merino wool products for about five years now. For example, they make the very popular Särmä Merino Wool Hoodies and Women's Merino Wool Hoodies. They knit, dye, and finish the fabric and sew the garment, pack it, and ship it to the customer. Despite all these stages, you only have one person you communicate with, so you don’t have to keep track of multiple processes at one time.

Omniteksas has state-of-the-art knitting and finishing machines. This fancy-sounding thing means that you get good stuff that feels nice on your body. They are also always looking for ways to improve their designs and processes.

What we especially like about Omniteksas is that they are environmentally responsible. They understand there is no plan B for the Earth. They have reduced their water use by 60% in the last three years, and the electricity they use in their manufacturing plant has been absolutely green since February 2020. They recycle everything they can. For example, all the wool pattern waste is fully recycled. In 2019, that amounted to 16.7 tons. Organic and recycled fabrics are their main interest at the moment. They are currently experimenting with e.g. different hemp blends, recycled polyester (Seaqual), organic wool, and organic cotton. Wool and cotton are of course organic fibers, but in these their production methods are that, too.

They are also very flexible in many ways. They were the first company in Lithuania to completely reorganize their manufacturing process and start making protective masks when there were none in Lithuania. They also value honest, open, and prompt feedback.

Rasa A.

How long have you worked at Omniteksas?

I have worked here for 15 years.

What do you do there?

I handle special sewing operations.

How did you get into this business?

I previously worked as a spinner at another company, but my sister asked me to come to Omniteksas and try sewing. So, thus I ended up being a seamster.

How do you like your job?

I like it so much that I have stayed here all these years.

Rasa S.

How long have you worked at Omniteksas?

I have worked here for 12 years.

What do you do there?

I sew all sorts of products.

How did you get into this business?

I learned to sew at a sewing school and was able to get work in the same field.

How do you like your job?

I like it very much.

Aldona B.

How long have you worked at Omniteksas?

I have worked at Omniteksas for about 1.5 years.

What do you do there?

I work with all sorts of sewing-related tasks.

How did you get into this business?

I used to work in the same field at another place. However, I also had a sister working at Omniteksas who asked me to come and work here, and it went from there.

How do you like your job?

I like working here with different kinds of products.

Evaldas

How long have you worked at Omniteksas?

I have worked at this company for 10 years.

What do you do there?

I handle various cutting-related duties.

How did you get into this business?

I used to work at another company’s cutting department. Then I found out that Omniteksas was looking for a person to work with a new automatic cutting machine. I decided to give it a go, got the job, and have been here ever since.

How do you like your job?

I enjoy my work here.