Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – The sale of products from Hessian prisons via the “Haftwerk” brand on an online portal has been stopped for legal reasons. After a change in the conditions on the Ebay platform in 2021, all retailers are obliged to process the payment via the provider’s system, the Ministry of Justice in Wiesbaden explained in response to a parliamentary question from the FDP parliamentary group. “The country could not join this private payment system for legal reasons.”
At the start of 2018, “Haftwerk” was primarily intended to draw attention to the work of the prisoners. According to information at the time, the range included hand-sewn bags, wooden trains and bracelets that were manufactured by the Hessian prisons themselves.
In 2021, only six items were sold via the online shop, the ministry said. This is not surprising, since the products were only available until September 22, 2021 and there had already been restrictions due to the corona pandemic. The production of articles that are suitable for marketing to private individuals has fallen sharply. In view of the turnover of the company’s own operations in 2021 of more than 9.2 million euros, this is of no great importance.
The ministry explained that there are currently no plans to expand the distribution channels. The in-house operations that come into question for the production of higher-quality products already have a good order situation or even an order backlog.
