NUUWAÏ UG: Who Made my Clothes?

Nuuwaii is a fair fashion brand for bags made of vegan leather alternatives. Here you will find the materials that the brand is using to manufacture their bags. Currently Nuuwaii is running their closing sale, so its your last chance to get their handbag.

AppleSkin

AppleSkin is made in Italy and is Ökotex-100 certified. It consists of  apple waste, which accumulates during the production of apple juice and other apple products.  Apple waste is dried and then milled into a very fine powder. This is mixed with polyurethane (PU) and applied to a tear-resistant roll of cotton fabric. These rolls are heated to produce a weather-resistant and durable fabric. In the final step, the fruit leather is embossed to allow for different surface textures. The finished vegan products consist of the following components: 38% polyurethane, 26% apple waste, 20% polyester, 16% cotton. When waste from apple processing is used, it not only improves the otherwise quite expensive and complicated waste recycling process. It also reduces the use of PU by replacing part of it with apple residues. However, a certain amount of PU is needed to make the bag durable.

PETA approved. AppleSkin bags are 100% vegan and no animal is harmed for the production. 100% PVC Free. Nuuwaii does not use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for their bags.  

Vegan Corn Material (UltraWer)

UltraWer is our second base material, also 100% PETA-approved vegan and from Italy. This leather alternative is based on corn grown for industrial use – but not for food.   A polyol is obtained from the corn kernel, from which resin is extracted. As with AppleSkin, this is mixed with PU and applied to the carrier material. This in turn consists of old PET bottles that have been processed into polyester fibers. Here, too, the material is then washed and heated so that the fabric is as flexible and resistant as possible.  The finished material UltraWer is composed as follows: 50% recycled polyester, 35% bio-based polyurethane from corn,15% polyurethane.

About the Lining

Recycled Polyester

The lining of Nuuwaii products is made of recycled polyester. For this, European PET bottles are collected, processed into plastic flakes and spun into polyester fibers.  For the lining of Nuuwaii older collections, they used recycled polyester made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles and fishing nets. These were fished out of the oceans as part of the ECOALF Foundation's "Upcycling the Ocean" project. 

From Finland

Recycling Felt

From the beginning, NUUWAÏ UG knew that it isn’t only important to them to produce vegan handbags - they also had to be produced under ethical conditions. 

1. Eisleben, Germany.

2. Petrer, Spain

3. India

NUUWAÏ UG's production in India is family-run in the third generation and places great emphasis on fair and safe working conditions. The building, where production is located, was newly built 2 years ago and has all the necessary safety precautions, such as signposted escape routes, emergency exits, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, protective clothing for workers. All workers receive a fair living wage, and some of them have been with the company for more than 20 years. In addition, their production is SMETA 6.0 certified, which ensures social standards and excludes child labor, forced labor and discrimination and ensures regular working hours. NUUWAÏ UG team is visiting the manufacturing facilities on the regular basis.