Warm ears, warm nights

Winter is just around the corner, that time of year when we generally hunker down in our own homes. But what do you do when you do not have a home to give you security and the street is your shelter? 

More than 250,000 people in Germany have no long-term roof over their heads. Sleeping, eating, drinking, intimacy – none of this can happen in a protected space. For this reason, we would like to issue an appeal to everyone: Let’s share the warmth!

And that’s why the new share beanies are now making warmth shareable. In four beautiful colors, the soft hats will not only keep your ears warm during the winter, but also provide a night in an emergency shelter for people who do not have a permanent home. The beanies are provided as part of a partnership with Caritas Germany, a Roman Catholic charitable organization.

Warm ears, warm nights

One size helps all

Made from a soft blend of Polylana®, nylon and spandex, the stylish, wide-cuff beanies snuggle up warmly over your ears. This year, the beanies are available in four great colors: black, gray, petrol and yellow. No matter which color you choose: Every beanie provides warmth. Here is an overview of all features:

  • Made from 35% recycled polyester
  • Comfortable and warm
  • Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified
  • Each beanie helps a person in need of housing in Germany or Austria in cooperation with Caritas facilities

One size helps all

Everyone has the right to a warm bed

In addition to the inhumane conditions of living on the streets, homeless people face constant dangers every day, and not just because of the cold. More than 1,000 crimes against homeless people are documented every year. In addition, cities are designed to be as unfriendly as possible to the homeless. The homeless don’t always find a safe place to sleep as a result. Bureaucratic hurdles make re-entry into society even more difficult.

Demanding conditions require full commitment. Of political leaders, of companies and of each and every one of us. As a company, we are determined to do our part: Every beanie sold provides a night in an emergency shelter for someone in need as part of our work with Caritas facilities and the German television station SAT.1.

At the same time, we fully understand that these donations are only a drop in the bucket and will hardly put an end to homelessness. 

FAQ: Everything you need to know about our beanies

How much money from the sale will be donated?

Your beanie purchase will result in a €1 donation to Caritas facilities.

What are the donations actually used for?

We work together with the Caritas facilities. The money donated as a result of beanie purchases is used for two purposes by Caritas: to buy materials and equipment as well as to provide social support services.

The support services offer short-term crisis assistance and long-term reintegration into society. The latter issue is particularly difficult for homeless individuals. In addition to facing bureaucratic hurdles, they suddenly have to cope with the loneliness of a life lived in a room or apartment, a transition that represents a sharp contrast to communal living on the street.

Various types of accommodations are supported. They include short-term overnight accommodations (cold weather assistance), accommodations where the sick and injured can receive care and recuperate and transitional accommodations that promote reintegration and preparation for living independent lives.

Where is the beanie produced?

We work hand in hand with our import partner to produce the beanies for our 2022 Warm Heart project. We jointly selected a production facility in China. It is the same company that manufactured the caps for our heat pack last year. We attach great importance to fair working conditions and select suppliers who meet our criteria. We also place a high priority on maintaining long-term supplier relationships. Such relationships enable us to work together on continuous improvements. 

The pre-production of the fibers and yarns is also done in China. This enables the transport routes of the raw materials to the production facility to be kept to a minimum.

Why is the beanie produced in Asia and not in Europe?

We know that the long journey taken by the textiles is not entirely sustainable. We have several reasons for taking this approach: 

First, this decision is related to the origin of the fibers themselves. To create a particularly soft and comfortable beanie, we consciously decided to use the innovative Polylana® material (see below). At the moment, we can source these innovative fibers only in China. This also made production in China an obvious choice for us.

Second, we want our beanies to be affordable for everyone, in spite of the donation provided by them. Despite these issues, we are still happy that we can offer a social and more sustainable alternative to conventional textiles in this price segment. We are also continuing to work on solutions.

What are the beanies made of?

The beanies are made of a mix of Polylana®, nylon and spandex. When selecting the materials, we paid attention to both comfortable fit and environmental considerations. We wanted to create a soft, comfortable hat without resorting to conventional acrylic or wool. In the process, we discovered Polylana®. The Polylana® material has many strengths: It feels as soft as acrylic, but requires fewer resources to produce than conventional acrylic. The production of Polylana® fibers uses less water and energy than the production of acrylic fibers. Thanks to the recycled content in the Polylana® fibers, share’s beanies also include 35% recycled polyester, which is obtained from post-consumer material. And thanks to blockchain technology, the Polylana® fibers are also traceable.

As the Polylana® fibers alone do not provide sufficient elasticity in a hat, the yarn also contains nylon (also known as polyamide) and spandex. The result is a beanie that is both stylish and comfortable.

How are working conditions checked and ensured?

As part of our compliance with human rights due diligence obligations, we employ various audit steps to monitor social conditions. This includes a careful selection of our direct suppliers and partners as well as our production facilities. 

The production facility for our beanies is regularly audited in accordance with the BSCI standard and the Sedex-SMETA social standard. We review the audit reports and analyze the assessments in detail to make a comprehensive evaluation.

We also make sure that the production facility has a holistic quality management system in place to ensure both high product quality and safe working conditions. 

We do not have any direct contact with the producer. But we require our direct supplier to have a long-standing relationship with the production company. This relationship will enable the supplier to provide an overall assessment of compliance with human rights and the improvement of working conditions. This also includes regular on-site visits to the production facility.