From Hospital Sheet to High Quality Design Dress: Tauko’s Upcycling Method to Sustainable Fashion

Abstract

TAUKOdesign is a Finnish firm that focuses on designing and producing high quality womenswear collections from discarded service textiles. Their raw materials are coming from health care, hotels, and restaurants in Finland and Germany. The author describes the history and development of TAUKO’s upcycling approach as well as their current business model and value chain. The firm provides a unique alternative to the increasing amount of textile waste ending in landfills by giving textiles a new life as the perfect raw material for TAUKO’s collections. TAUKO’s founders believe that recycled textiles do not have less value than virgin materials. They appreciate the materials and make them last for longer. They saw the potential in a hospital sheet that can become a high-quality design dress which has its own story to tell.