Why is it so hard to find sustainably produced, high-quality and visually pleasing clothes for children? Do I want to be part of the fashion industry that can sometimes be in conflict with my personal ethics and moral?
These were some of the questions considered by Papu Design Oy’s founder Anna Kurkela in 2011 before establishing her own clothing brand. She came to the result that change will happen only by doing something concrete. So she started a brand, that would be friendly to the others and would create loveable, high quality clothes with the twinkle in the eye. To create the visual world of PAPU she found the visual artist Hanna-Riikka Heikkilä, and so began a unique friendship, a successful co-operation, and a growing international clothing brand.
Time has shown, that many customers have been looking for a more unique, more sustainable and better quality option beside the large fast fashion brands. PAPU’s first collection ”Papu ja Nappisade” was sold out quickly after the launch and some products from the popular collection have become PAPU’s identifiable classic items.
After this, the company has grown rapidly and gained a stable market position. PAPU’s original way of combining sustainability and ethical production to current, clear-lined but also playful and brave design has raised interest internationally. Today the products are sold in 27 countries through the company´s own online store and over hundred retailers.
PAPU started as a children's clothing brand, but now it has grown into a collection for children as well as for adults, and this year more than half of the company's revenue comes from women's collection. The products are designed in Finland and manufactured by carefully selected European partners, mainly in Portugal, Finland and the Baltic countries. Papu uses high-quality organic cotton fabric as the main production material.
For us, Papu is more than just a job or a business. It's a way to influence the defects of the clothing industry, bring joy to people's lives and reach out to our own dreams! We want to show that positive, responsible business and value-driven entrepreneurship will be success in the future. As a growing company, the opportunities to make an impact and make more responsible choices are constantly increasing. We want to make Papu so big that its operations have an impact on a larger scale. Our vision is to be one of Europe's leading sustainable women's and children's clothing brands in 2025.
Love, Papu