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Bless Internacional will be at Pop Up Guimarães Marca this June. T Jornal gets to know the company from Guimarães, which focuses on fashion but also produces sportswear, professional clothing, homewear and sleepwear for slow fashion brands.
‘On display we’ll have pieces produced by us for different clients and showroom pieces that allow us to showcase our know-how of over 20 years,’ introduces Sílvia Costa, the manager. ‘As we knit on circular looms and also some fabrics using different techniques, we’ve decided to diversify our products this year,’ she continues.
As a GOTS-certified company, Bless has sustainability very much at the centre of its structure and offer, starting with the choice of raw materials, which are of organic or recycled origin.
‘Customers prefer to have more sustainable raw material than the certified item itself. Also because a certified item has another implication in terms of final cost,’ she explains, not forgetting that they work with transparency chain platforms – “for our clients this is what has the most impact.”
Also in terms of environmental efforts, Bless highlights the work carried out with the Guimarães Landscape Laboratory to estimate the Carbon Footprint and the signing of the Climate Pact with the Municipality of Guimarães – a collaborative action to decarbonise the territory with a target of climate neutrality by 2030.
The company has been investing continuously in machinery and software in order to improve its efficiency and productivity. “Last year we invested around 150,000 euros in machinery and software. For 2024, we are strategically betting on improving the skills of our professionals, as well as exploring markets. Intangible investments,’ she says.
Bless exports 97 per cent of its production, with the European market leading the way. ‘We want to increase the portfolio of customers who appreciate and are looking for loyalty with the associated service,’ concludes Sílvia Costa.