Questions about the brand

picea is the scientific name for the spruce.
The tree not only gives its name to the region we come from –
Fichtelgebirge - but is widespread throughout Franconia and also in the Franconian Forest. That is why we chose the spruce as our trademark and for our brand name.

Like no other plant, the spruce is suffering from the effects of climate change in the form of the bark beetle. Work is underway to restructure forests and find ways to make spruce monocultures more resilient. And this is also a good example of our approach at PICEA. We want to show what
our region has to offer, use what already exists, but make it modern, cosmopolitan and future-proof with innovation, motivation and a strong team.

By email: For product questions or press inquiries at manufaktur@picea.earth , for questions about your order and sales inquiries at shop@picea.earth or via our contact form

Behind picea is a small team consisting of a handful of textile enthusiasts. What connects us? We all grew up in Upper Franconia, are crazy about sports and spend every free minute outside. We are all experts in the textile sector and have combined our passion for textile innovations with our passion for sport over the last 10-20 years.

The local styles are picea's favorite pieces with a strong connection to the Franconia region with the Fichtel Mountains and Franconian Forest. Where we are the locals! We have made the spruce our trademark for the authentic fair textiles, a real token of love for our homeland. Some of the regional styles are even made directly in the region, and all products are "made in Germany" in as many steps as possible.
Regionality is very important to us. Even with Michael's first label "bleed", it was a big goal to produce as many textiles as possible with a connection to the region. For some time now, bleed's fair fashion range has included regional Fichtelstyles.
picea goes one step further and has made it its goal to manufacture the majority of its styles in Germany and to carry out as many steps of production as possible in Franconia. Upper Franconia is an ancient textile region with an incredible amount of textile know-how that must not be lost. We want to use it, network with local companies and thus create and maintain added value in the region.
In addition to the "Franconian Denim" organic jeans made in Germany, which you already know from bleed, you will find sustainable products with real regional recognition value. Ecological (home) textiles that are made in a weaving mill near the company's location in Helmbrechts, T-shirts with cool "local prints" and functional jackets "made in Germany". The local styles impress with short distances and a good portion of love for the region.

Questions about the materials

Organic cotton, TENCEL®, hemp, recycled polyester, kapok, ECONYL®

That cannot be said in general terms. We work with different yarn suppliers who get their cotton from different sources. But all of these cotton yarns have one thing in common. They are all GOTS-certified. This means that their origin is controlled and certified according to GOTS standards, from the seeds to the cultivation of the plants to the production of the yarn. The cultivated GOTS cotton is then collected at a central point and then delivered to the yarn producers. The majority of this cotton comes from Turkey and Africa.

We work primarily with small family businesses. Certification is not just a question of attitude, but also a question of money. Unfortunately, small businesses often cannot afford certification. Nevertheless, they produce according to the highest environmental and social standards and use GOTS-certified cotton and dyes for production. However, a product can only be certified if absolutely every step in the process is certified. Since the manufacturing process is the only link missing in the chain, these products cannot be certified. We know these businesses personally, have concluded our own contracts with them to guarantee our standards and check the products and working conditions ourselves several times a year. The businesses grow together with us and strive for certification.

The polyester we use is 100% recycled. The recycled textiles can be traced using GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certificates. GRS ensures the traceability of the materials and environmentally friendly and social production. Furthermore, for future projects we are switching to polyester made from recycled old textiles. These are melted down again in the Sympatex® Fibre2Fibre project to make new yarns. In addition, we work with polyester yarns in some projects that were created in collaboration with the SEAQUAL® initiative to ensure that we can combat the problem of plastic pollution on our planet. Through our close partnership with the TURNS® fiber cycle, we can guarantee the textile cycle.

As an innovative company, we work with very different materials for different areas of application. Each material has advantages and disadvantages in use. Polyester is currently often demonized due to the microplastic issue. Of course, this aspect must be taken into account. Nevertheless, we are sticking with this material because it also has important advantages over other materials. Polyester is very easy to care for and durable. The products have a very long service life if processed well. If used in a pure form, the products can be recycled even after use. In contrast to cotton, which requires up to 11,000 liters of water to produce one kg of textiles, up to 90% of the water consumption is saved for the production of recycled polyester yarns. In addition, the use of recycled materials helps to reduce waste. Textile and plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental problems caused by humans. The production of recycled materials reduces waste and saves so-called virgin materials (raw materials). The energy savings are also significantly higher compared to cotton production and the new production of polyester. Of course, there is still the problem of microplastics. We can minimize fiber migration by choosing very high-quality materials, but fine fibers still come loose and end up in the groundwater, especially when textiles are washed. To avoid this, we recommend using the Guppybag. The washing bag has such a fine mesh that the fibers cannot get through. After washing, you can simply remove them and throw them in the plastic waste.

Questions about production

For all of our products you will find direct information about cut and dimensions. If a product is particularly large or small, this will be noted in the features and product description.

Men's cuts
Our men's cuts are generally a little larger. They are all cut a little longer. If you are between two sizes, you should opt for the smaller size, unless you like wide and long cut products.

Women's cuts
Our women's cuts are average, but if you are between two sizes or prefer something a little looser, you should choose the larger size.

We want to offer functional products that are useful in everyday life and during sport. For some products, we have therefore decided to use elastane, even though it does not meet our claim to pure varietals. Nevertheless, we have kept this to a minimum. The following products contain elastane for various reasons:

Jeans:
Our jeans have a minimum of 2% elastane. The elastane content ensures the freedom of movement you need when doing sports and when you're on the move. Whether you're skating, cycling or running around the park, the pants don't restrict you and can do anything.

Functional clothing:
We also have a small amount of elastane in some tops and trousers. A certain amount of elasticity in the fabric is necessary, especially for products that are cut very close to the body (otherwise it is difficult to move and it is difficult to get in or out of the garment).

Socks and hats:
Socks and hats have to endure a lot; they have to adapt to our feet and heads, but still fit snugly and are constantly being put on and taken off and used every day. To ensure that they don't stretch out, the elasticity is very, very important. This is ensured by the elastane content.

This begins with the selection of materials during product development, continues with the selected finishing techniques, through assembly, to shipping to our warehouse and finally to shipping to the end customer. Even during product development, we pay attention to the selection and combination of materials and provide the details of the finishing. This information contains information for the producers about which materials can and cannot be used. For production, we have selected trustworthy family businesses that we know personally. We have corresponding contracts with these businesses that oblige them to comply with our requirements. In addition, we visit the businesses several times a year in person and also have individual products subsequently tested by independent testing authorities. Our entire production takes place in Europe. A very large proportion is now manufactured in our immediate area “made in Germany”.

- Weberei Wirth, Helmbrechts (Franconian Denim, home textiles)

- Stöhr Knitwear, Wernberg/Köblitz (hats, accessories)

- Mützeria, Hof/Saale (socks)

- PAC, Schweinfurt (functional accessories)

- Ramil, Northern Portugal (T-shirts, sweaters)

We have been proud to be "toxic free" since our founding. This means that from the very beginning we have ruled out the use of finishing techniques that are harmful to health or the environment. This should be a given, but unfortunately it is far from the case in the clothing industry. Every dyeing process and impregnation process involves the use of a certain amount of chemical agents. It is important that the critical substances do not come into contact with people or the environment, or that critical substances are replaced by alternatives. For wastewater, there are biological sewage treatment plants as closed circuits in which used water and chemicals can be reprocessed. Due to the GOTS certification of our partner companies, AZO dyes and heavy metals are excluded as standard. The metal parts used, such as belt buckles and zippers, are also completely free of chrome and nickel.

Every product leaves an ecological footprint on the earth. This also includes the carbon dioxide released. We try to keep emissions as low as possible and for this reason we take a holistic approach and consider all the factors that influence textile production. In order to keep CO² emissions as low as possible during all transport, we try to avoid long distances between production steps.

In addition, we save on transport routes and reduce CO² emissions by producing fiber and fabric in the same country as production wherever possible. 100% of our products are produced in Europe to avoid long delivery routes. By avoiding the use of new crude oil, we also reduce energy consumption - and thus CO² emissions.

We ship to all end customers with DHL GoGreen, which guarantees climate-neutral shipping. We also try to avoid long car journeys and unnecessary flights within the team. Because not everything can be avoided, we also compensate for the emissions we cause through environmental protection projects. We only do shoots at locations that can be reached by car and with a travel time of less than a day. The emissions generated are also compensated.

Questions about the online shop

It can always happen that a style does not fit or simply does not sit as desired, even though you have checked the measurements beforehand. Or you notice that the color simply does not suit you that well. That is not a problem, in such cases, among others, you can make use of your right of withdrawal. To do this, you must declare your cancellation of the contract to us. You can do this either in person at our store (Sport Frank, Lorenzstr. 22, 95028 Hof), by phone, fax, email, or you can send your order back to us. We will give you a return slip for this. Please fill this out so that we know why you are sending the item back. By answering, you will help us to make our products even better in the future. Please enclose the return slip with your package, attach the shipping label to the package and drop it off at a post office. If you have already transferred the amount beforehand, we will transfer the amount back to you immediately, but no later than within fourteen days. Please note that there are shipping costs of 4.95 euros for returns, which we will deduct from your refund.

For our pre-orders, you can expect the following shipping time after the stated pre-order period, for which we assume 4 weeks production time.

In Germany, if you order before 12 noon, delivery takes about 1-3 days. In the EU, delivery takes about 3-5 days. Deliveries to more distant countries can take up to a week.

The right of withdrawal normally applies for 14 days. During the Christmas period, the right of withdrawal is extended until January 10th.

Returns for deliveries from Germany or Austria cost you 4.95 euros. Please use our return form for each return. You will then automatically receive a return receipt. We will then deduct your costs over 4.95 euros from the refund amount. We have set ourselves the goal of keeping our CO2 footprint as low as possible when placing our goods on the market.

We ship our goods with DHL GoGreen. All products are therefore sent to the end customer in a climate-neutral manner.

Yes, we also offer deliveries to packing stations. Simply provide the address and possibly the PO box and you will soon be able to pick up your package there.

At the moment we only ship our products to Germany and Austria, but the latter incurs higher shipping costs.

You will receive a confirmation after your order. As soon as your products are produced and shipped to you, you will receive a
Tracking link via email from us.

Simply enter it in the field provided on the shopping cart or checkout page and click “Apply discount code”.

Yes, you can also get the collections at Sport Frank in Hof/Saale. And you will get first-class advice. There you can look at and try on all the styles at your leisure and get to know the brand and the team. You can find us here: Sport Frank, Lorenzstr. 22, 95028 Hof

We ship to all end customers plastic-free and without advertising flyers. The goods are packed in cardboard. This cardboard is recycled and recyclable and comes from responsible sources.

Questions about care

General
For most of our products, we recommend washing in the washing machine at 30 degrees. This temperature is usually sufficient to remove coarse dirt, sweat and everyday grime from your clothes. For individual products, we recommend hand washing. Information about each individual product can be found on the so-called care label, which is located in the side seam or in the neck area of ​​your product. Please do not put your picea products in the dryer! This helps the environment because it saves energy and prevents your product from shrinking uncontrollably. In principle, it always makes sense to close zippers before washing, as the sharp teeth can otherwise tear holes in other items of clothing. Products with prints should always be turned inside out so that the print stays beautiful for a long time. Always try to wash items of clothing with similar colors to avoid unpleasant surprises. Who wants their favorite white T-shirt to suddenly turn pink because you washed it with the red sweater? Pull your clothes into shape after washing while they are still damp and give them a good shake. This will save you a long ironing session.

Polyester items
We recommend washing our products made from 100% recycled polyester in a washing bag, the so-called Guppyfriend. It prevents microplastics from migrating from the product into the water during washing.

TENCEL® products
For the fine TENCEL® products, we recommend washing them in a laundry bag so that you can enjoy the products for a long time.

Products made from organic cotton:
We use the finest organic cotton for our cotton products. The cotton absorbs a relatively large amount of moisture during washing and therefore becomes very heavy when wet. To avoid the product becoming stretched out due to this weight, we recommend laying these products flat on the rack to dry (especially knitwear). This prevents the items from warping. Pulling them into shape when wet can also be useful for some products.

The fine TENCEL® fibers contract slightly during the washing process, which can make the surface of the fabric feel hard. To make your TENCEL® product feel like it was just bought, we have two tips for you:

1. Iron the product with a lot of steam. This relaxes the fibers and makes them elastic and soft again very quickly. 2. Put them on. Body heat also relaxes the fibers and makes them soft again, but this can take a while.