Less than a month and a half away from the World Cup in North America, the mega-popular “I am from Bosnia, take me to America” fan t-shirts are a sell-out success on the Dubioza Kolektiv webshop. They are made right here at the Humana Nova facility in Čakovec, using certified eco-cotton.
When our long-time partner Dubioza Kolektiv released these t-shirts in mid-April—celebrating Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup qualification—we knew we would have our hands full. For years, we’ve been the band’s partner for producing sustainable apparel. But Humana Nova doesn’t just manufacture the merchandise; we also manage their webshop. In fact, every item is stored and distributed directly from our Čakovec address.
About half of all branded items sold through the Dubioza Kolektiv webshop and at their European concerts are made by Humana Nova. These include short-sleeved t-shirts and hoodies made of eco-cotton and with various prints, as well as branded slippers made of eco-leather and cotton.
This partnership has increased our production and visibility, but more importantly, it has created real career opportunities. Specifically, it created a career for Mario.
Mario’s story began two years ago when he joined Humana Nova for on-the-job training as a webshop administrator. His mentor was Dino, a young man with cerebral palsy who was running the Humana Nova shop at the time. The entire process was guided by the professional support and mentorship of our HR manager.
After his training, we faced a challenge. We wanted Mario to stay, but we didn’t have an immediate opening. Mario chose to stay with us as a volunteer for almost a year, persistently building his skills and waiting for his chance. That opportunity finally arrived through our work with Dubioza Kolektiv. Today, Mario manages, receives, and processes all orders from the webshop. He is the key person in our distribution process.
By trusting us with their webshop, these popular musicians have significantly contributed to the work integration model that we have practiced as a social enterprise for 15 years.
—There is nothing humanitarian about collaborating with them. These are people who have set things up quite well to function—not on a humanitarian level, but on an economic one. And that is what is interesting to me: that they managed to combine the two. When something is humanitarian, it happens once... and that is more or less where the engagement ends. This is something that employs people in the long term whom no one else would want to employ. I much prefer that we can collaborate with them rather than respond to a call for help, said Brano Jakubović, frontman and one of the founders of Dubioza Kolektiv, in an interview with Al Jazeera Balkans.
It all started back in 2018, when Dubioza staged an unexpected spectacle at the Varaždin Špancirfest right next to the Humana Nova stand—a spontaneous acoustic gig as a sign of support for what we do. The surprise concert attracted a large number of people and sparked interest in our products and our mission.
Four years later, Dubioza Kolektiv and Humana Nova were back at Špancirfest. This time, the day before their official performance, they organized another surprise pop-up concert at our stand. Together, we even prepared ćevapčići, which the guys from Dubioza handed out to visitors.
The popular band loves visiting our headquarters in Čakovec, and their openness and simplicity always delight us. —Each of their visits has a great impact on the team; it is talked about for days, and people work at 200 percent afterwards, said Humana Nova manager Ivan Božić.
To celebrate our tenth anniversary, the guys even threw a private concert in our yard for the employees. We have been to several of their concerts too—from Dom Sportova in 2019 to Jarun in 2024—and shared many memories (and backstages) together. We are expecting another summer reunion soon—but we won't reveal too much just yet!
