Why we choose to be 100% Finnish

Today is the Independence Day here in Finland. And as it’s highly important for us to keep the production of our garments in Finland, we decided to share some thoughts about it with you. Why do we choose to do things this way - and stick with it, even though it isn’t always easy?

It’s all about values

You need to be a little bit stubborn to choose to make products the way we do: to use organic Finnsheep wool to produce yarn, to employ retired ladies to knit the products, and to establish a farm-based design brand in a small town called Pöytyä. For us it is a matter of values, doing things fundamentally differently. 

When we decided to make our beanies from Finnish wool, little did we know about the Finnsheep wool. We did not know that it compares to merino wool in its softness. And we didn’t know that since the industry has almost disappeared from Finland, almost 70% of the raw wool is usually treated as a waste. Ever since this all came clear to us, we understood that our mission is to both promote the quality of this world class raw material and to revive the wool industry in Finland.

The fact that we buy raw wool only from certified and monitored organic farms is not just another sales trick. In reality, we are also a medium sized organic farm specializing in regenerative farming. For us being organic is a lifestyle that we want to promote. 

We could have chosen to stay in Helsinki or in Hawaii, but we decided to return to Pöytyä and take over our family farm. We know we cannot change the whole world, but at least we can change our home county. Though choices we make are not meaningless. 

The first grannies we hired were family friends, but today we are able to employ over 60 retired ladies and offer them a community to belong to and meaningful things to do. It is rewarding to work with such experienced women. It is valuable to help people in third world countries, and it is also valuable to help those that are close to us. 

This year we decided to offer our Myssy Friends also the opportunity to make something meaningful and to feel accomplished by making something with your hands - by knitting your very own beanie with MyMyssy Kits.

If we cannot do it, nobody can

You need to be relentless to run a business like this. How easy would it be to just do it like everybody else: just choose a yarn from the catalog and have the garments factory made?  But it would not make a difference. If we can’t revive the Finnish wool industry and employ grannies, nobody else can. 

When you buy a Myssy, you make a value judgement. You make a difference.

We wish you all a Happy Independence Day!

Greetings from the farm,
Anna, Janne and the Myssy team.