Origin & Production

SOSUE is a fashion brand from Hamburg. Sue Giers and her sister Vanessa Gieser founded the brand in 2016 because they wanted to create fashion for women in the prime of life.

SOSUE is not a green label, and we do not claim that it is. We say exactly what we can: where our products are made, who we have been working with and since when, what goes into our fashion, and what we do without. And where we cannot substantiate something, we do not write about it.

We explain below why we do not carry a certification. →

No Season: Buy Once, Wear for a Long Time

When designing our collections, we take care not to constantly launch new ones. Our fashion should be wearable regardless of the season. That is why we focus on one-size cuts and repeat successful designs over many years. This keeps styles in our range for longer, and we produce smaller quantities of each style.

Aside from wool and cashmere, we do not use any animal-derived materials: no leather, fur, angora, or down.

Made in the EU

We have our fashion produced exclusively within the European Union. Most of the collection is made in Portugal, with additional pieces produced in Italy and Bulgaria. We have worked with our manufacturers, mostly family-run businesses, since the company was founded in 2016 and visit them regularly.

Production within the EU means that European labor and environmental laws apply there: statutory minimum wages, regulated working hours, occupational health and safety, and binding environmental requirements.

Together with our manufacturers, we review the materials used for every collection. Wherever the cut and fit allow, we use fabrics without elastane. You can find the exact composition with each product. Our manufacturers also use fabrics that other brands no longer purchase and turn them into garments in small runs.

Transport and Packaging

SOSUE products are not transported to Germany by air; they are delivered by land. We ship orders with DHL GoGreen.

To protect the products in the warehouse and ensure they arrive in perfect condition, they are packed in polybags. We continuously review alternatives that use less material. We reuse our shipping boxes as long as they are undamaged.

Why We Do Not Carry a Certification

SOSUE does not carry a sustainability certification. There is a simple reason for this: certifications such as GOTS or Fair Wear are not awarded to the brand, but to each individual facility in the supply chain. Each facility has to undergo the audit process and pay the ongoing fees. For the small family-run businesses we have worked with since 2016, this effort is disproportionate to the quantities purchased by a label of our size.

We have decided not to conceal this gap, but to be transparent about what we can substantiate instead: where our products are made, who we have been working with and since when, which materials we use, and what we do without. You can find this information with each product and on this page.

A certification would be a promise. We prefer verifiability.

Leftovers

Even though we make an effort not to include unnecessary pieces in the collection, sometimes we do not sell everything. None of these items are destroyed, nor do we pass them on to wholesalers. We donate these pieces to organizations, offer them at a lower price, or rework individual items and return them to our shop.

Secondhand: Pass SOSUE On

We do not see secondhand as competition; on the contrary, we regularly support vintage and secondhand shops because we like the idea of fashion being worn and passed on for a long time. We also encourage you to care for your SOSUE pieces so that you can enjoy them for a long time. We are happy whenever one of our blouses is resold or passed on.

Social Engagement

Not everyone is lucky enough to lead a worry-free life. Some people have to overcome difficult situations and depend on help. We support organizations and projects that ensure people are not marginalized, receive appreciation, and are given opportunities to thrive.

Projects and organizations supported by SOSUE:

Women For Women: Supports women in former war zones so that they can build new lives.

Childaid Network: Supports children and young people in remote areas of Southeast Asia.

Arche Hamburg: A Christian organization supporting children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Lions Club Mallorca: Helps people who have fallen into hardship by ensuring that their basic needs are met.

Children’s Hospital Sylt: A rehabilitation clinic where children recovering from cancer treatment are medically, therapeutically, and emotionally strengthened together with their families over a period of four weeks.

Empowerment

SOSUE is a company founded by women, with women making up the majority of our team. That is also why we support many female founders and women in leadership in their work. We regularly report on their business ideas and work on our blog and social media. We want to encourage women to become self-employed, start companies, or take on leadership positions. To us, women’s empowerment is more than a statement; at SOSUE, it is a lived reality.