Humana Nova
All our textiles are made with dignity and by democratic self-management. Our dear colleagues from the workers’ cooperative
Humana Nova in Croatia are people with wishes and dreams just like you! What does the work at the cooperative mean to them and what differences do they see with regard to other workplaces? Here you can get to know some of them better.
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Ljubica
Ljubica has been working at Humana Nova since 2014. She is mainly responsible for sewing. She associates friendship with her workplace and, in contrast to other jobs, she feels mutual respect between the workers. For the future, she wishes for health and personal development. Ljubica loves spending time with her family.
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Mirjana
Mirjana has been sewing for Humana Nova since 2015. Working in a cooperative is a completely new experience for her. What makes it so different from other places she has worked before is that all the work is based on respect and mutual consent. She hopes for more orders and financial stability for Humana Nova. In her free time, Mirjana likes to spend time with her family in nature.
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Paula
Paula has been with Humana Nova since 2014. She helps with all production steps. Working at Humana Nova represents a big change in her life. Compared to other jobs, she appreciates the mutual tolerance that exists here. She hopes to find a lot of work for Humana Nova. Paula speaks good German and likes to play with her dog.
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Anita
Anita has been part of Humana Nova since 2012. She mainly sews. In her opinion, the relationships between the employees are better than in other sewing factories. That is why working at Humana Nova means friendship for her. Since Anita is deaf, some of her colleagues have already learned sign language. Anita loves to read and if she is to be believed, the future will be better!
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Damyanka
Damjanka is one of the founding members of Humana Nova. She is mainly responsible for the creative side and gives workshops on upcycling. Through her work at the cooperative, she wants to contribute to the improvement of everyone, both at Humana Nova and in the rest of society. Damjanka's favorite activities are spending time with her children and friends, walking in the forest, reading books and watching films.
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Ivan
Ivan has been with Humana Nova since 2012 and holds the position of "Cooperative Manager". This means that he takes care of all requests or suggestions that are made to the cooperative from outside. Humana Nova is an inspiring new experience for him and his heart. He feels that the relationships between people here are much better than in other companies. Health and family mean a lot to him and he wants a happy future. Ivan loves playing with his kids.
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Sandra
Sandra joined the Humana Nova team in 2014. She is the one who takes care of sales and administration. What she really likes about working at Humana Nova is that she can make decisions and learn. Understanding, enjoyment and equal voting rights are some of the things that make the difference for her compared to other jobs. In the future, she wants to expand her knowledge and share it with others. andra loves being around her family.
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Sanja
Sanja started sewing for the cooperative in 2013. Unlike in the past, she is no longer afraid of a new working day and goes to work calmly. Another difference that she emphasizes is that at Humana Nova they make decisions together about what they do and how they do it. Looking to the future, however, she would like better premises and a higher salary. Sanja's hobby is gardening.
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Snow
Snježana joined Humana Nova in 2014. She has a lot of experience in sewing, but from time to time she also takes on other tasks. For her, working at Humana Nova means agreeing on everything. People who have all had similar or the same experiences and been in similar situations work together here. That's why they understand each other. Snježana enjoys going for walks and spending time with her family.
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Tea
Tea is also a long-term member of Humana Nova. Since 2011, she has been mainly involved in the creative art of upcycling old textiles. In Humana Nova, she sees a secure job and feels good because she is doing something she really likes. The relationships between the workers also mean a lot to her. For the future, she wishes for health and more peace in the world. Tea likes to cook, drink coffee with friends and be with her child.
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Vesna
Vesna has been with Humana Nova since day one in 2011. She works in the upcycling and recycling department and is responsible for sorting used clothing. She works at Humana Nova to earn money and appreciates the greater flexibility they have as workers. She wants a stable future for Humana Nova. Vesna has a good time walking her dog.
USELESS PRIDE RECORDS
Useless Pride, based near Toulouse in France, is our partner for international print-on-demand shipping. This means that all collections available in our shop, such as "Working Class History T-Shirt of the Month" or "dna Classics", are printed by them and sent to you. Useless Pride operates high-quality digital direct-to-garment printing technology. The printing inks penetrate deep into the fibers of the textiles and exceptionally good results are achieved in terms of both colour quality and feel. Read what Olivier from Useless Pride has to say about our collaboration below:
“The common thing we have with DNA merch is that we come approximately from the same culture, which is more ethical. Our way of working cannot be selling millions of pieces, our way of working would be to have 500 small companies doing the same job as us than 1 big one with 500 million euros sales per year. “You can't run a big company like this and stay with the basic ethic.”
Printex
Printex is our experienced partner for textile printing. They have been working with Humana Nova for a long time and are located nearby. Printex specializes in screen printing with water-based and environmentally friendly inks. Saša, the owner and manager, employs around 30 people. Mirjana, Nino and Melani are the ones we deal with the most. If we want embroidery instead of printing, we cooperate with the company Matex, which is also located nearby.
With Printex we can print not only textiles but also any information material you require, be it calendars, brochures, books, flyers, posters and so on. Do you need help with designs, illustrations or layouts? We're happy to help you!
W.D. Textil | Panda
The family-run Zagreb-based company W.D. Textil is our reliable partner for the production of our 100 percent organic cotton single jersey fabrics from which our T-Shirts are made.
Most of our other products such as sweatshirts, hoodies and jackets are made from fabrics sourced from Panda Commerce in Turkey. Based in Samobor, Panda is Humana Nova's long-standing regional wholesaler of high-quality and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified fabrics.
dna merch
We had the idea for "dna merch" at the end of 2013. We are Doreen Zelmer and Anton Wundrak, two long-time friends from Berlin who went to school together. Originally founded explicitly as a fair alternative for bands and musicians, today it is mainly trade unions who buy their textiles from us.
But how exactly did it all start? In short: with music and concerts! Anton not only enjoys playing the drums in his free time, but also regularly attends concerts. When he became more and more interested in the exact origins and working conditions behind the merchandise sold there, he noticed that very little to no information was available. Interestingly, this also applied to the shirts that were advertised as fair and ecological. Together with Doreen, he thought that there had to be a better and more transparent way of doing this. And so the idea was born to set up an alternative merchandise company where the seamstresses of the textiles would also be visible to the end consumer.
