You have the power to push the fashion system towards the path of sustainability: how do you convey the value of sustainable and ethical garments to consumers? This is not easy – it starts for us with certification according to GOTS. Sustainably produced and ecological clothing still needs to be explained. In our philosophy, on the product and in our print and online presentations with the GOTS certification, we try to convey to consumers how important it is to us that neither humans, animals nor the environment have to suffer for our clothing. That we treat resources with respect, pay fair wages and pay attention to humane working conditions. We will continue to follow this path and want to ensure even more transparency within our supply chain in the future. Timeless staples over trends: how do you define the aesthetics of your brand? Quality over quantity: which materials characterize your collections? Our brand stands for natural materials and an overarching colour concept – for fashion but also for timeless classics. What does that mean? Natural materials are comfortable to wear, do not pollute the environment when washed and are highly recyclable. The big problem of microplastics in water, the question of the further use of clothing – questions where natural materials stand in good stead. The longevity of clothing is also defined by its combinability – our overarching colour concept ensures that styles can be styled with older and new collections over many seasons. This is especially true for our shirts and basics, but also for individual prints. In our production planning, we try to plan to the point and avoid overproduction and close exchange with our retail partners is important to us. Price tags do not convey the real value of a product: how much does it affect production? How important are the social and environmental costs? In the traditional fashion sector, still too little. The costs related to the image and positioning of the brand and the share allocated to profits have a greater impact. How are your prices made up instead, as a sustainable and ethical business? Is part of the earnings reinvested in virtuous projects? Of course, we also have to calculate our prices on the basis of raw material, production and logistics costs. But we do not strive for profit maximisation. It is important for us to produce high-quality and good clothes and to be able to support social projects with the surpluses. Be it with clothing donations for the women’s shelter or for refugees, the promotion of young people’s projects in competitions or the permanent securing of income for women, for example with projects like Pompom Solidaris or Charity Scarf in Peru. Our corporate goal is fundamentally a good life for all – which is why we want to be accounted for according to the Common Good Economy this year. The common good economy is an economic system based on values that promote the common good. As an ethical market economy, it is predominantly based on private enterprises that do not strive to maximise profits but cooperate and collaborate with each other. The purpose of economic activity and the evaluation of corporate success are defined on the basis of values oriented towards the common good. The basis for this is, among other things, the ethics of respect for nature, the protection of the earth or the involvement of employees in strategic decisions in order to further develop a model in a participatory, democratic and open-ended process in such a way that it actually enables a good life for all – here and elsewhere, now and in the future, for humans, animals and nature. The first thing you say about yourself is that, coming from the industry, you know the bad things of fashion and want to change the textile industry. Give us 3 examples of what is wrong with traditional fashion and how you have improved these aspects in your business. Fast fashion – up to 12 collections and more a year, vast quantities of clothes in often very inferior quality. Disposable fashion that is thrown in the rubbish after a short period of use, thus wasting raw materials and polluting the environment. We produce two collections a year in the highest possible quality. Away from consumables to consumer goods – here, too, appreciation is the watchword. Inhumane working conditions. Most textiles are produced in low-wage countries, under the worst conditions for the workers, who cannot even earn a living with their work. Long shifts without breaks, no health protection whatsoever, ramshackle workplaces – which then leads to disasters like the one in Rana Plaza in 2013. We ensure good and safe working conditions through our GOTS certification and many years of cooperation, especially with family businesses. A production process without regard for losses. Overexploitation of the environment, the use of pesticides and other harmful substances in cultivation. Pollution of water, as the waste water after the dyeing process of textiles is simply discharged into the canal, to name just two examples. Again, GOTS certification ensures that the environment is protected in the production process. Alternatively, we like to use nature’s colours or process the raw material undyed.