Quality, innovation and specialization since 1863
In 1863 Bernhard Hönigsberg and Salomon Singer founded the company in Vienna, in which today's ETERNA Mode GmbH originated. Her invention made of patented double fabric quickly established itself as a fashion must-have in the men's world. This specialty made the name ETERNA (Latin: eternal) famous and paved the way for the non-iron shirt and later the non-iron blouse. The year ETERNA was founded is now immortalized in the name of the premium line 1863 by ETERNA.
A branch office is opened in Passau – which explains the current location. In 1935, the Passau branch was separated from the Austrian parent company and became the independent company "ETERNA Wäschefabrik", integrated into PIAG (Passauer Industrie AG).
In 1981, ETERNA created a real sensation: a non-iron shirt made from 100 percent cotton. Previously, there were only polyester goods on the market as non-iron products, mainly from America. Although it was easy to care for and inexpensive, it was also of low quality and made you sweat. ETERNA is now offering the handcrafted cotton shirt as an alternative. It convinces with pleasant wearing comfort and easy-care equipment, invented by ETERNA together with its Swiss partners, and becomes a bestseller in a very short time.
On the occasion of its 130th anniversary, the company moves into the new headquarters, a new building in the Sperrwies commercial area in Passau.
Capacity expansion in Eastern Europe: ETERNA founds its own plant in Bánovce in Slovakia with a production volume of 8,000 shirts per day.
As the world's first shirt and blouse manufacturer, ETERNA received the highest OEKO-TEX® certification in 2000, which today corresponds to the MADE IN GREEN product label and examines environmental and social aspects along the entire supply chain. The certification confirms that the products have been tested for harmful substances, as well as consistently environmentally friendly production with high social standards.
As a timelessly modern company with a long tradition, ETERNA meets the challenges and heralds a new brand identity in 2015. With proven quality but a new look, new logo, new labeling and a new visual language as well as a new retail store concept, ETERNA is starting a new era full of visions.
In the course of the brand relaunch, ETERNA is focusing even more on sustainable production: ETERNA makes the supply chains of the shirts and blouses open to everyone and enables consumers to transparently follow the manufacturing process step by step.
From 2021, ETERNA will show even more clearly how sustainably the shirts and blouses are manufactured: On the one hand, the products will receive the Green Button, the state seal for socially and ecologically produced textiles. On the other hand, "Green Levels" - similar to a traffic light system - now show on each product which sustainability criteria it meets.