Description
-The company is undergoing Friend of the Earth’s audit. No garment has yet been certified
HISTORY TALES
It all began…
…with linen bags from World War I, a radical idea, and the Eighties! When Clemens Dörr, founder and CEO of elemente clemente, was just fourteen, he began to develop an interest in sustainability. His uncle was among Bavaria’s early organic farmers and agricultural adviser to the newly established Green Party in 1980.
“My uncle, from very early on, made me aware of topics such as factory farming, conventional agriculture, and the massive usage of pesticides and fertilizers. Therefore, I am solely buying organic food ever since I was eighteen.”
Furthermore, Clemens Dörr’s father-in-law owned a second-hand fashion store and he was convinced that new things could be created out of old fabric. He obtained old French linen bags from World War I on a flea market and had them made into new individual items
“When I became self-employed in 1988 with Kandis & Kandismann and designed my first men’s collection, I remembered the linen bags. I got in contact with the French government and they referred me to the storage, filled with unused linen bags.”
The idea to manufacture a collection out of those bags sounded incredible and revolutionary at the same time. Clemens Dörr bought 2.000 linen bags, fell in love with the excellent material, and started his first collection. It was a great success from the start and got distributed by well-known stores such as Ludwig Beck and Uli Knecht and it did not fall out of fashion ever since.
“On the streets, I still see people wearing items of our original collection because they are resilient and timeless. I am fascinated by linen cloths until this day.”
When Clemens Dörr founded elemente clemente in 2002, it was clear that sustainability would be crucial. Recycling and upcycling are important production principles for the team and they are being developed constantly.
