Old hospital textiles, army outfits, working clothes, industry leftovers and consumers' recycled clothes become the fashion at Globe Hope. Re-cut, sewn, dyed and pressed, the clothes take on new life.

The design company Globe Hope Oy creates something new while respecting the old. The company is committed to the principles of sustainable development: it designs and produces clothes without increasing the endless amount of material in the world and by utilizing materials that have already been processed.

The company idea was generated out of tiredness with the endless hunting for new materials. "Having been involved for years in the quick-cycle fashion world, I started asking myself: Why can't we use material that is already in existence? Why must we always produce something new? What means do we have for recycling the material?" says managing director Seija Lukkala.

The reply was design that could reuse the material. It was a real awakening experience: the whole concept emerged in one go from my sub-conscious. "Just as if someone had pressed the print button on a computer and a fully processed concept came out. It was confusing."

From Helsinki to Japan

The first test collection was shown at Helsinki International Fashion Fare in the spring of 2003. "I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. Nobody had ever brought old material to a fashion fare before."

"The collection was received enthusiastically, especially by consumers. Some internal buyers were positive in their interest, colleagues were mainly amazed. A group of Japanese buyers made a test order immediately and off we went."

The Globe Hope collection is at this moment on sale in Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Starts with the material

Each Globe Hope collection has its own theme the aim of which is to draw attention, for example, to the state of the forests or to how much rubbish we collect around us. "We make people think - not in a way that creates a furrowed brow but by acting as an impulse for a more sustainable future."

"The design of the collection generally starts with the materials we have bought. We try to exploit delightful details and shape them in an amusing way."

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Globe Hope's customers are aware, urban pacesetters - consumers who want show through their purchasing behaviour that they are trendy and up with the times.