JOSEF REINL SCHMUCKFEDERN IMPORT-EXPORT GMBH & CO. KG

For over 65 years, decorative feather products have been supplied from Cham to the European market. Right after the war, a company founded by displaced persons began producing decorative feather items. The successor to this business was JOSEF REINL, which was newly established in 1951. The customer base and, above all, skilled female workers formed the foundation for qualified processing of decorative feathers. While in the 1950s, fashionable hat feathers and exquisite feather hats were primarily produced, the product range has expanded over the years to include festive, decorative, and carnival items. In the meantime, feathers for dance sport groups, theater, advertising, music bands, marching bands, and majorette groups are now part of the program. Craft feathers in numerous colors and varieties for kindergartens, schools, samba groups, and various other uses complete the product range. Raw feathers, especially ostrich, pheasant, and turkey feathers, are imported on a large scale. While the refinement of the feathers is largely done by machine, the further processing is literally in the hands of skilled female workers who create the decorative feather items by hand. This is very labor-intensive, and some products could be produced more cheaply in low-wage countries. However, quality work and individual customer care remain decisive factors for the preference of Cham decorative feathers. The processed feathers are fundamentally from animals that are bred for food production, such as turkey feathers, rooster, chicken, duck, and goose feathers, etc. In contrast, feathers from protected animals have not been traded or processed since the implementation of the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Through special dyeing and processing techniques, attempts are made to imitate these types of feathers as far as decorative feathers for historical costumes, etc., are needed. The colors used comply with the applicable standards. In a workshop, custom-made products and samples are created, and new workers are trained to ensure that the old skills of decorative feather processing are not forgotten. Most items are then produced in home work, a traditional source of income in the Bavarian Forest, which guarantees consistent quality and short delivery times. Through a complicated dyeing and finishing process, raw decorative feathers are transformed into lightweight decorative accessories for various uses. Creativity and inventiveness ensure that a seemingly useless animal product gains market value. By purchasing a dyeing facility for decorative feathers in 2003, flexible and short-term delivery, even of special colors, is always possible.