Countries of production of the Transa range

Where are the products in the Transa range manufactured?

The products in our range are manufactured in about 70 different countries. This includes the countries in which final production stage takes place, i.e. the final production step. If we took into account all of the production stages, from the extraction of raw materials to the end product, we would have to include significantly more countries.

Most of our products are manufactured in Vietnam (approx. 27%) and China (approx. 22%). However, many of the products in our stores and online shop come from Bangladesh, Italy, Taiwan, Germany, Indonesia and Romania.

Why are the majority of products in the Transa range manufactured in Asia?

From the 1970s, the production of many consumer goods shifted from Europe and the US to Asia. This was due to lower costs. In the 1990s, manufacturers started to produce more and more products in China. From the 2000s, production grew above all in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. In the 2010s, countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Myanmar were added.

Over the years, Asia has developed into a centre of excellence for manufacturing clothing, especially for the outdoor sector. Much of the industrial infrastructure and the skilled workers with the necessary expertise are located there.

What about ‘Made in Europe’?

There are still important European production sites for certain product groups. For example, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Germany and Croatia play an important role in the shoe industry. In the area of technology, Germany and Switzerland are also strongly represented alongside various Asian countries. Many of our camping tents are made in Estonia, a large part of the mountain sports equipment comes from Italy and a large part of the bike accessories in our range are made in Germany.

Is it important to Transa which country a product is manufactured in?

We want the rights of people, animals and the environment to be respected when our products are manufactured. Depending on the country, the risk of these rights being jeopardised increases.

We assess the protection of workers in supply chains using recognised risk indices. We currently use the ITUC index. This shows how high the risk is of human and worker’s rights being violated in a specific country.

If there is an increased risk, we want to know from the manufacturers what they are doing to ensure that the working conditions meet our requirements. You can find more information on this in our supply chain management.

It is important to us that our brands:

• Implement legitimate risk management. This means that the brands are aware of the dangers during production and take systematic action against them.

• They comply with our requirements regarding working conditions, environment protection and animal wellbeing. These are set out in the Transa Code of Conduct.

• They are constantly improving your sustainability.

Basically, we are convinced that sustainable production is possible anywhere. It is important that brands responsibly manage their local supply chains. From a sustainability perspective, there are both very good production sites in Asia and problematic factories in Europe – and vice versa.

Are there reasons for Transa to exclude a country of production?

Yes. It mainly affects countries which, according to the ITUC Index, have a very high risk of labour and human rights violations. For example, for political reasons, it is no longer possible to check working conditions in a country. As a result, we may temporarily dispense entirely with products from this country, or we will only buy them if more stringent risk management requirements can be met and documented. For example, due to the civil war in Myanmar, we currently only buy products from Myanmar if the brand is either a member of the Fair Wear Foundation ((LINK)) or the Made in Myanmar initiative. Despite the civil war, both organisations are working to improve working conditions in the country.