The 'Made in Finland' label is raising debate as iconic bootmaker Kuoma has shifted some of its production abroad.
The company, widely associated with 'Made in Finland' footwear, has manufactured parts of its shoes abroad without fully disclosing this to customers.
Kuoma is a footwear brand best known for its slip-on high winter boots. The company states on its website that its shoes are manufactured at its factories in Kuomiokoski and Mäntyharju in South Savo.
The shaft stitching of Kuoma's signature tube-boot models is carried out in Latvia, but overall, about 70 percent of this model's production is still based in Finland.
However, in some other models, the share of Finnish materials and labour is significantly lower. Some products arrive in Finland nearly finished from Asia, despite carrying a domestic origin label.
In the Kulkija winter boot, for example, only the sole and insole are produced in Finland, while all other components, including laces, are sourced from Indonesia.
Kuoma's shift comes amid financial strain, including the loss of sales to Russia. The company's turnover has fallen by roughly a third during the war in Ukraine, with Kuoma also posting losses of more than a million euros last year.
The company CEO, Sanna Kittelä, maintains that its production practices comply with the rules governing the 'Key flag symbol' (Avainlippu), which signifies Finnish origin.
Kittelä rejects claims of inconsistency between Kuoma's marketing and its production reality.
She argues that the company has been transparent about the fact that some components may also be manufactured outside Finland, alongside domestic production.
Carrying the key flag label requires that a product is manufactured in Finland and that its domestic content accounts for at least 50 percent of the product's production cost.
