Sustainability already played an important role in Clemens Dörr’s youth. His uncle was one of the first organic farmers in Bavaria and agricultural adviser to the “Greens”, which were newly founded in 1980. Factory farming, conventional agriculture and the massive use of pesticides and fertilizers were therefore a no-go for the adolescent. Extending the life cycle of things is also firmly rooted in it. He learned from his stepfather that old materials can be used to create something new. And his mother opened the first children’s second-hand shop (Kandis) in Munich in 1973.
Before committing new resources, we should think about what we can repair and revive to give new value to used materials.
When Clemens Dörr went into business for himself with the Munich brand Kandis & Kandismann in 1988, he bought 2,000 linen sacks in France for his first men’s collection – they had never been used. The revolutionary upcycling project was well received by buyers from Ludwig Beck and Uli Knecht, among others. Clemens Dörr has not lost his passion for this material to this day as CEO and founder of Elemente Clemente.
We should make our clothes in such a way that we act in solidarity – with future generations, nature and wildlife.
The materials? Pure nature and recycled variants.
For Elemente Clemente, Clemens works primarily with natural materials. The linen – core topic for 30 years – comes mainly from Italy, has grown without artificial irrigation and is obtained without chemical additives in ecological field roasting. The organic cotton is grown in Turkey. The wool comes from controlled organic animal husbandry and is mulesing free. The use of existing materials is particularly important to Clemens Dörr: linen residues, recycled wool and cotton save new resources and at the same time reduce the destruction of usable materials. Recycled polyester (PET) as well as nylon and polyamide, which are obtained from old fishing nets or leftovers from carpet production, among other things, pay into the same account.
Plant color meets innovative printing techniques.
For his reduced looks and casual silhouettes, he works with environmentally friendly mineral and plant dyes, which are constantly being further developed together with an OEKO-TEX-certified German-Tunisian dying company. Particularly innovative is the laser sprint process, in which color pigments for a motif can be lasered out with a laser beam without chemicals and therefore in an environmentally friendly way.
From design in Munich to production, responsibility and transparency are groundbreaking.
Clemens Dörr is firmly convinced that products must be manufactured in such a way that they can be returned to the cycle. Either through composting or through recycling processes. That’s why he thinks the production cycle the other way around. The puristic, individual and urban collections, which appear twice a year, are produced in Europe (Poland and Turkey) and mostly in their own factory in Tunisia, which is operated by two partners and is currently (as of November 2022) in the process of certification by Fair Wear Foundation is located. Good to know: 80 percent of the energy is generated on site from our own photovoltaics.
Elemente Clemente x Jane Goodall Charity T-Shirts
Triple Eco Shirts (organic cotton plant-dyed, chemical-free laser printing or with GOTS-certified digital printing) with sustainable motifs were created in cooperation with the British environmental and species protection activist Jane Goodall. For every shirt sold, 5 euros will be donated to the work of Jane Goodall.
The Elemente Clemente collections are available in their own stores in Munich, Stuttgart, Essen and internationally (including Vienna).
Discover Elements Clemente now. Click here >>>
