LINZ. Take a little more money and invest in “something decent” – but then keep and wear the garment longer: That is the motto of Janna Meta Binder, Managing Director of Xiling. In the shop in Linz’s Rainerstraße you can only buy clothing that was produced under fair conditions and with sustainable materials. Binder is not jumping on a trend: Xiling has been around since 1983: the business was founded by the mother and grandmother of the current owner. “It was the time when synthetic fibers were processed into clothing on a large scale for the first time,” says Binder. Her ancestors consciously wanted to go a different way here.
Xiling has outerwear for women and men, as well as underwear and sportswear. The focus is on clothing with wood-based fibers, organic cotton and hemp: since the plant has a strong odor of its own, insects are not interested in it, which is why hardly any pesticides are used.
Some of the manufacturers have been working together for decades: “We know what materials and under what conditions the goods were made, or we can always ask if the worst comes to the worst,” says Binder, who studies marketing and e-business at the FH in Steyr studied and lived in Berlin for a few years: It was always clear that she wanted to return to Linz at some point. Two years ago, the 34-year-old took over Xiling when the shops had to be closed for weeks due to the corona pandemic, and an online shop was set up.
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Sustainably produced clothing still often has the image of being bulky, unattractive and expensive. Janna Binder also wants to fight against these prejudices. The pieces are flattering and more comfortable to wear: “The costs for T-shirts start at 18 euros.” Less is often more when buying clothes: Consumers should build up a base of 20 to 30 items of high quality – from well-fitting jeans and trousers to blouses and T-shirts. People pay more attention to pieces that they buy consciously and wear them longer.
Fairly produced goods are a niche, but awareness is increasing – which Binder took as an opportunity to open a second shop in times of flourishing online trade: She has been renting in the “House of Sustainability” on Rainerstrasse in Ried/Innkreis for a year. Six employees are employed. According to Binder, the unusual name goes back to a Chinese empress: According to legend, she climbed a tree to escape – and discovered the silkworm there.
Source: Nachrichten
