Responsibility

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.”

John Donne was able to summarise the guidelines behind our activities into one sentence – taking others into account, or, in modern terms: responsibility.

At Sauso, responsibility has always been an integral part of everything we do. For us, responsibility means high-quality products, a long product lifespan and an ethical production chain.

Durable Products

First and foremost, our products are made from durable materials using a careful handcrafting process. This makes the products long-lasting. Our gloves are sewn in a manner that allows the lining to be changed. The lining can be changed using our replacement and reparation service, prolonging the lifespan of our products even more.

You can also make your gloves last longer by taking care of them properly. To last for years, leather gloves need appropriate treatments and rest days. We recommend that you always have a few pairs in rotation for this reason. After use, our gloves should be stretched lengthwise, so that they retain their shape and don’t become loose.

It’s a good idea to wear your gloves only in the way that they’re intended: e.g. smart city gloves should not be used to clear snow off from your car. As gloves develop scratches and lose some elasticity over time, their recommended use also changes. A durable leather glove will serve you long as a spare glove, dog walking glove or a glove for refuelling your car or clearing the snow.

As our products are made from natural materials, they’re completely free from microplastics and thus environmentally friendly. 

Sustainable Design

The life-span of our designs and styles is also part of sustainability. As a classic accessory, gloves are unaffected by seasonal trends. Instead, they serve their owner from the beginning to the end of their lifespan.

Finnish design combined with the Scandinavian affinity for practicality, cool collectedness and relaxed playfulness delight the wearer again and again. At best, our gloves feel like a second skin.

Sustainable Materials

Our leather is selected based on a combination of durability and feel, as well as ethical considerations. All of our leather is obtained as a by-product from the food industry. Hence, leather and ethics aren’t mutually exclusive concepts. All of our leather is derived either from fully free wild animals (peccary, deer, and elk), half-domesticated animals (reindeer) or fully domesticated animals (sheep). As these animals are kept or hunted for their meat, leather is only a by-product. We do not use leather or furs from fur farms.

The leather we use for gloves has to be soft and flexible, as well as thin enough that the glove will feel comfortable and practical to wear. At the same time, it has to be very durable as gloves are often subject to mechanical wear and tear. We’ve searched far and wide for the most suitable leathers. Testing plenty of different leathers, we’ve discovered the best ones come from all around the world. It’s, however, our pleasure to say that many Finnish leathers are among the best in the world!

• Ethiopian hair sheep - we use full-grain lamb nappa leather derived from Ethiopial hair sheep. This is generally speaking the most popular leather for gloves, as it’s known for its softness, flexibility and beautiful shine. The hair sheep is native to regions close to the equator and has a fur coat resembling hair. This also means its hides are thinner and more flexible - thus more durable than that of any other sheep. These thin hides can be used to create many innovative leather types, such as touch screen leather and washable leather.
• Wild peccary boar - peccary originates from Peru, which is the only country allowed to sell this valuable leather. Indigenous people native to the Amazon hunt this wild boar for its meat. Hunting this CITES-protected animal is, however, only allowed for survival. This means that the hides are a by-product of sustenance hunting, and not part of large-scale leather production. 
• Elk - elk leather is arguably the most ethical end ecological out of all of our leathers. It’s necessary to control the populations of this wild animal due to the danger it poses to traffic, agriculture and forestry. The leather we use is a by-product of this process. This Finnish leather is durable and thick, and an especially popular material for winter gloves. 
• Reindeer - a real Nordic luxury product. Reindeer leather is an exotic luxury around the world, but a local product in Finland, and one of the most highly regarded leathers used for gloves. Caring for free-range reindeer is key to the vitality of our northern villages. Naturally soft, thin and highly durable, reindeer leather is practically made for gloves.
• Deer - the qualities of deer leather can be described as a mix between elk and reindeer leathers. It’s thinner and smoother than elk, but grainier than reindeer. Deer leather has a beautifully matte surface and excellent durability in face of wear and tear. The deer lis a wild forest animal and hunting it is tightly controlled. We use Finnish and North American deer. Finnish deer leather is both higher in quality and has a smaller carbon footprint.
• In terms of fur, we use sheepskin, lambskin and rabbit fur, which are all derived as a by-product from the food industry. We do not use fur from fur farms.

As a general rule, we only use natural materials in our linings. Natural materials are simply unparalleled in terms of durability, thermal insulation, breathability and feel compared to synthetic materials. The ethical treatment of staff and the production animals is very important to us, so we only source lining materials from out long-term, trusted partners in Italy. 

• Cashmere - our cashmere, used in our knitted linings, is made from the undercoat of the cashmere goat, which is sheared every spring.
• Wool - wool sheep have to be sheared to avoid their fur becoming too long and hot, as the sheep cannot shed their fur on their own.
• Silk - a durable natural material. Made in Italy, our silk linings are excellent quality and very durable.
• Organic Cotton - a double cotton fleece is designed particularly for our customers suffering from wool allergy. Growing organic cotton uses up to 91% less water than regular cotton. Organic cotton is also grown without pesticides and colourants, and the workers have a safe working environment.

Sustainable Production

Making the gloves by hand is economical, and thus ecological, in terms of material use. In the cutting phase, the cutter optimises leather cutting to each hide, so that a minimal amount of waste is created. Gloves are an excellent product for this purpose, as they have a lot of small parts (fingers, thumbs, cuffs) that can be made with very small pieces of leather.

Our glove factory is situated in the beautiful city of Pécs, Hungary, and employs some of the best glove makers. As our factory compiles with all labour laws and regulations in the EU, you can be absolutely sure that there are no unethical factors in the manufacturing process, such as underpaid staff or environmental destruction.

The same standards apply to all of our suppliers, including the leather and textile factories we use. As all of them are located in the EU, they only use REACH-certified chemicals and take care that waste water and other manufacturing waste is disposed or recycled and treated according to regulations. Our leather has very low levels of chemical residue. E.g. our formaldehyde value is only 1/5 of what is allowed in the EU for baby clothes. (Reutlinger Leather Laboratory study).

Sauso and You

By purchasing a responsibly manufactured product, you play a role in supporting local businesses and sustainable processes, as well as ensuring that we can continue producing responsibly.

We’d like to thank both our returning customers and our new friends, who have supported us during difficult times. You’ve proved that there’s a high demand for ethical quality products.

The heart of Sauso is in Helsinki, where the design of the gloves and operational leadership takes place. Sauso’s brick-and-mortar store is also located in the centre of Helsinki, at Eerikinkatu 1. The shop staff is professional and warm, and always ready to help customers find the perfect pair of gloves. The staff is also available via the online chat on the website.

What can you expect from Sauso in 2022? Our goal is to be even more transparent in terms of our production and product development process. We’re developing our website to serve the needs of our customers even better. We’re going to add a lot more information, videos and pictures, as well as make the online ordering process even easier. Our product pool is will become sharper and more diverse. And what’s going to stay the same? The Sauso quality, fit and durability, created by some of the best artisans in the industry. We’re on a journey to improve.

What do you think we could do better? Do you have questions or suggestions? We’re happy to hear from you about anything at all. You can read our answers to frequently asked questions or leave us a message by clicking here.