Fashion made from CWS Workwear

Recyceled CWS Workwear

CWS Workwear is a forge for sustainable workwear. It is not only high-quality, durable materials and sustainable service that make the workwear supplier so unique. The topic of upcycling, recycling and the reuse of its own workwear is also close to CWS Workwear's heart. A special project that has been in place for more than 15 years, when there was not much attention on the topic, is the cooperation with the Berlin designer Daniel Kroh.

Inspiration came during an internship

Kroh started in 2004 as an intern at CWS in product management, then boco, in Hamburg. At the company's headquarters at the time, he came up with the idea of producing fashion from old workwear. Today, in his Berlin studio, he creates fashion and designs exclusively from discarded CWS Workwear and is considered an upcycling pioneer.

Discarded dungarees for road construction, painters, gardeners and landscapers, but also protective clothing are among the source materials from CWS that Kroh processes. What also adds to the charm of the clothing is that it comes along elegantly but in some places with a "used" look. He mainly makes jackets and blazers as well as vests and bags. In the process, Kroh needs 5 pairs of dungarees to design a new jacket from. "Through Daniel Kroh's great designs, he enables our textiles to be used in a new area and extends their service life once again," says Leonie Biesen, Sustainability Manager at CWS.

For more than 15 years, the fashion designer has regularly received CWS Workwear - now 2.5 tons annually. "Many of my customers are university lecturers, teachers and photographers, graphic designers or architects. Some owners of craft businesses are also among my clientele who are interested in the clothing," explains Daniel Kroh. This is because the discarded workwear is clothing for trades and industrial operations that has lost none of its robustness.

Fashion from work clothes can save lives

The fact that this type of clothing can also be particularly beneficial is shown by an incident involving one of Kroh's customers that occurred at a trade fair a few years ago. "My customer is the owner of a stove manufacturing company. He was showing off one of his ovens at a trade show when a pilot flame erupted and caught him. But the jacket of mine he was wearing was made of a high-quality welding protective clothing from CWS. Therefore, he did get burned on his hands and head. But his body remained virtually unharmed," says Kroh, describing the incident in which the material of the clothing saved the man's life.

Cooperation: CWS Workwear x Daniel Kroh 

2022 should be the start of another collaboration for Daniel Kroh and CWS Workwear. For example, Kroh designed custom blazers and jackets for some members of the CWS leadership team. The fashion designer is also exclusively designing a garment for the workwear service provider. That's how the circle closes. CWS then offers the piece in limited quantities. What it will be, however, has not yet been revealed. To be continued...

Not everyone can recycle

The fact that it is possible to recycle workwear at all is made possible by the "Service for Workwear" business model and the CWS circular economy. CWS clothing is made available to companies on a permanent basis in perfect condition and is always reprocessed; when the contract ends, it is returned to CWS Workwear. This is the big advantage compared to a linear business model, where clothing then has to be disposed of by the end consumer or user.