Eschler, the Swiss manufacturer of highly functional knitted garments, announces that it has won new customers such as Pearl Izumi, Cannondale and Kuhl. The company is one of the first manufacturers to join the Bluesign standard on environmentalism and integrate sustainability as well as fair working conditions, back in 2001. Effective fall/winter 2009-10, Eschler has eschewed garments that are based on soy and corn. Eschler’s general marketing and sales manager, Philip Schär, explains that the processing of such material for textile purposes is unfair to third-world countries where the industrial use of such resources means less food to the inhabitants. The Swiss garment factory was founded in 1927 and still is property of the heirs of the founder, Christian Eschler. Sales in 2007 were CHF 40 million (€26.9m-$35.8m). Eschler manufactures 3.6 million of meters of yarn annually at its own production facilities in Switzerland, Germany and Thailand. The company employs 200 people, 120 in its home market. Forty percent of the fibers are sold through sports brands while 15 percent are dedicated to workwear, 30 percent to lingerie, and the other 15 percent to technical fibers.
