Side by side is the trade name for the design collection that was developed in 2001 by Caritas Wendelstein Werkstätten in cooperation with Sabine Meyer (project manager), factor product (graphic design agency) and more than 15 freelance designers. Product development, marketing & sales and the warehouse are located in Raubling in Bavaria's alpine upland. Wendelstein Werkstätten employs 120 disabled workers in different departments, including 80 who work in the well equiped wood workshop.
For ecological reasons, side by side uses primarily domestic wood, like ash. Wood surfaces are left untreated or are treated with environmentally friendly oils, waxes or lacquer. The majority of the design furniture, home decor and kitchen utensils are handmade in the workshop or in one of eighteen other workshops for disabled people.