The Berlin label MOOT, short for Made Out Of Trash, relies on upcycling, i.e. on the complete reuse of textiles that have already been produced. The redesigned products are made in Berlin, they are made from 100 percent discarded textiles, but they are not only wearable, they are also trendy. Upcycling is probably the most sustainable way to produce new clothes today. In addition, MOOT also values complete price transparency – the composition of the sales price of each item of clothing is broken down precisely in the online shop.
In an interview, co-founder Michael Pfeifer explains how the label makes upcycling fashion suitable for the masses and what a concept store in Berlin’s Ostbahnhof has to do with it.
This interview was dated [Fashion Council Germany](https://fashionunited.com/companies/fashion-council-germany). In cooperation with FashionUnited, exciting German fashion labels and designers who are members or partners of the FCG are presented at regular intervals.
Can you explain to us how MOOT was founded?
The founding process of MOOT went through several steps. In the summer of 2019, during a holiday together, my co-founder Nils Neubauer and I philosophized for the first time about what is now called MOOT. During his training as a fashion designer at the Lette-Verein Berlin, which ended in July 2020, Nils quickly realized that “business as usual” was no longer acceptable in the fashion industry.
Why?
Clothing has become disposable and disposable for many. Nils did not and does not want to be a part of it. Back then, in the same breath, he told me that he was producing “new” clothes from existing materials – in other words, he was upcycling. As a business graduate, I knew little about upcycling, but all the more about finance and business models. Nils’ conviction to make the fashion industry more sustainable and to make upcycling suitable for the masses inspired me immediately. In the spring of 2020, the holiday idea of two best friends then became the MOOT GbR. Since April of this year we have been trading as MOOT Upcycling GmbH.
You founded your company in April 2020, when the first Covid wave had a firm grip on the world. As a business graduate, how would you describe the past two and a half years?
Of course, the idea for MOOT came up before that, but the timing of founding the company was really challenging. A week after the company was founded, we were initially without a textile supplier due to the lockdown in Germany. But we have found solutions to master this challenge and have come out of the first phase of the crisis stronger. Since then, there have been several corona waves and lockdowns; now there is war in Ukraine and high inflation.
Looking back, we founded in a very difficult time, but we have been able to solve every challenge so far. None of us have a crystal ball, but at MOOT we still have a clear plan on how we want to continue to grow and make upcycling suitable for the masses. I am very satisfied with our development, especially when you consider the general conditions to date.
It all started with a T-shirt made from old bed linen. You now sell more than ten products from coats to belts in your own online shop. Which product category will you bet on next?
We are extremely proud of the rapid expansion of our product portfolio. After releasing many new products lately, we are currently working on new cuts. However, this year we will be launching two or three more product categories for the winter season. However, I cannot reveal any details about the new products just yet.
A concept store in Berlin’s Ostbahnhof was added to the online shop. How did the cooperation with Deutsche Bahn come about?
Based on the concept store in Berlin’s Ostbahnhof and the cooperation with Deutsche Bahn, you can see very well that MOOT is not a conventional fashion label. We seek and find contact with the middle of society – and what place is as exemplary for the middle of society as a train station? The cooperation with Deutsche Bahn started after we won the startup program, the “DB mindbox”. Out of the competition, a great partnership with Deutsche Bahn has now developed that goes far beyond shop operations; For example, we were at the Greentech Festival together with Deutsche Bahn and offer our products in the railway shop.
How has direct contact with customers influenced you?
Direct customer contact in the concept store – especially across all social groups – is extremely valuable for us. Based on direct feedback we have now released another cut for some of our products. If we were purely online, this feedback would not be so easy to get.
The MOOT concept is based on the upcycling of textiles. How do you rate Germany as a fashion location in terms of sustainability and circularity?
The fashion industry is and – if it doesn’t change radically – will remain one of the dirtiest industries in Germany. We welcome the fact that more and more fashion companies are now dealing with sustainability and circularity, but I miss the final determination here.
What else has to happen?
Since the terms “sustainable” and unfortunately also “upcycling” are used almost excessively, I am concerned that a lot of things are more greenwashing than real innovation. So far I have seen extremely few labels that deal with post-consumer waste. Incidentally, I also miss this determination on the other side of the ecosystem: sustainability and circularity must be based on much stronger criteria when public funding and programs are awarded. There is still a lot to do to make the fashion industry sustainable and circular.