Tas Textiles fulfills major Woolies order

The team at Tas Textiles recently completed its largest ever single order by designing, sewing and shipping more than 1,500 of their charmingly unique Envirowoolly® Koalas and Kiwis for the Woolworths Group’s 100-year anniversary across Australia and New Zealand.

The initial order was for 900 koalas and 300 kiwis, with an additional order of 470 koalas, 70 of which had to be uniquely made to feature the names of some Woolworths employees.

Tas Textiles Executive Manager, Linda Goram-Aitken, said the kiwis and koalas were all hand stuffed with more than 300kg of Tasmanian wool.

“Every piece was individually checked, weighed and hand-sewn to finish,” she said.

“Stuffing is a waste product of jumper production, but in this case, we had to knit and tear down to produce the quantity we needed.

“It was an enormous effort from the team to fill the largest single order we’ve ever had, there were koalas and kiwis everywhere in the factory!”

Linda said the volume of the order meant the team had to churn out at least 50 products per day.

“Although the project presented some new challenges, particularly in regard to designing some of the uniquely named koalas, we are now better prepared to tackle orders on this scale in future,” she said.

“Everybody did an amazing job. Averaging 250 pieces per week is an incredible achievement and gives us even more confidence in our processes moving forward.”

Tas Textiles is a Special Work of the St Vincent de Paul Society Tasmania and an NDIS participant workplace.

The company has been producing knitwear in Tasmania since 1946 and enables people with a disability to experience meaningful employment in a supportive environment.

Tas Textiles produces a wide range of premium textile products and services, including woollen knitwear for schools and corporate markets, embroidery services, a range of hand-made soft toys and much more. For more information, just hop online to the Tas Textiles website.