8 min.
4.4.2022
Natural female bodies must pull on our sustainable clothing
Text
Casper Hindse
Photo:
Copenhagen Cartel - Lasse Jacobsen
"It was the dream of surfing that sent me to Bali in 2016, but the dream was filled with plastic," says the now 35-year-old entrepreneur with a raspy laugh at Copenhagen Cartel's offices in central Copenhagen.
When Katrine Lee Larsen traveled to Bali after completing her master's degree, hoping to surf and experience a laid-back lifestyle, she was shocked by the amount of plastic on the beaches. Even though she and a group of volunteers spent entire afternoons making the beaches look like travel brochures, new trash washed up the next day. The frustration over plastic pollution became the starting point for an entrepreneurial success she never saw coming at the time.
"I traveled to Bali with a one-way ticket in one hand and a to-go coffee in the other. I didn't give climate and plastic a second thought, but I was deeply affected by the devastation caused by plastic."
Since she became a household name on the DR show 'Løvens hule' (Dragons' Den) in early 2021, things have moved fast. Copenhagen Cartel produces clothing from plastic found in the world's oceans – and it sells.
"In 2017, most people said it was impossible to sell swimwear in Denmark. Especially swimwear made from fishing nets. But I’m probably the type who thinks, 'well, then I’ll show them.'"
Plastic bags on your body
"The idea for Copenhagen Cartel arose when I was looking for swimwear with a better fit myself. The fibers often lose their shape. I saw an opportunity to combine my own needs with a climate-friendly initiative," she says.
Today, she uses regenerated fishing nets, which are spun in Portugal for clothing production.
"People thought the idea sounded good, but didn't understand why you would want to wear a fishing net or a plastic bag," she says with a smile.
In 2017, most people believed that swimwear made from fishing nets was impossible to sell in Denmark, but Katrine Lee Larsen worked around the clock to prove them wrong.
"I don't have a background in textiles, but my communication is clear. Perhaps that has been an advantage, because I quickly questioned the way things were done."
"The idea for Copenhagen Cartel arose when I was looking for swimwear with a better fit myself. The fibers often lose their shape. I saw an opportunity to combine my own needs with a climate-friendly initiative," she says.
Today, she uses regenerated fishing nets, which are spun in Portugal for clothing production.
"People thought the idea sounded good, but didn't understand why you would want to wear a fishing net or a plastic bag," she says with a smile.
In 2017, most people believed that swimwear made from fishing nets was impossible to sell in Denmark, but Katrine Lee Larsen worked around the clock to prove them wrong.
"I don't have a background in textiles, but my communication is clear. Perhaps that has been an advantage, because I quickly questioned the way things were done."
Bikinis instead of an apartment
To counter the skeptics, Katrine Lee Larsen sought knowledge from the Danish Technological Institute to understand what sustainable clothing requires. If she was well-prepared, she would succeed, was her mantra.
I decided to be brave. Resistance and skepticism motivated me, but passion was the foundation, she says.
She invested the money she had saved for an apartment into 500 bikinis – and people went crazy. Three days after the launch in 2019, Copenhagen Fashion Week contacted her because her sustainable concept fit perfectly into the new fashion landscape.
Today, Copenhagen Cartel also sells sunglasses, activewear, and loungewear. Everything is developed with the idea that if you really go for it, it is possible to bring the rest of the world along with you.
I like to challenge the notion that the world has to be a certain way, says Katrine Lee Larsen.
Pushing boundaries
Katrine Lee Larsen never stands still. She works every day and rarely gets home before dark. This has, among other things, led to a new collection where cotton has been rethought.
We have developed a fabric that incorporates seaweed into T-shirts. Cotton requires enormous amounts of water – up to 2,700 liters for a single cotton T-shirt – and water is becoming a scarce resource. As a society, we have become dependent on cotton, she says.
Copenhagen Cartel has created a T-shirt, hoodie, and sweatshirt containing 30 percent seaweed, and the goal is to increase that share. Seaweed, after all, requires no water at all.
Seaweed is a magical fiber that can be used in everything from food to skincare products – and now, in clothing as well.
Her passion for the project is clear, but she also appreciates help:
I run much of Copenhagen Cartel myself. That is why I also value good conditions for entrepreneurs. Barcodes help us get certified faster with retailers all over the world, and it is a huge help to be correctly registered for trade and value.
The sustainable female body
Four years after returning home from Bali, it is no longer Katrine Lee Larsen’s own wanderlust that drives her – it is the vision of bringing Copenhagen Cartel to the world.
As an entrepreneur, you encounter new things every day. I had never worked with barcodes before, and suddenly I had to figure out how they worked. You have to have clear goals. Our strategy is to open new stores and move beyond Denmark’s borders. 2022 will be the year we show ourselves off globally, she says.
It is important to stay in sync, but also to stay true to yourself. In the office, honesty and emotions are important. Soon, 30 women from our customer base are going on a surf trip to Morocco to strengthen our community.
Copenhagen Cartel has just entered into an agreement with the sports resort Club La Santa on Lanzarote. It matches the brand’s sustainable philosophy.
It should be natural female bodies wearing our clothes. In the beginning, I asked my friends to step up and model them, just as I did myself. Swimwear advertisements are often demotivating because everything is retouched. We have received many happy messages from women who can now see themselves in us. Copenhagen Cartel is a result of our world, and it must be future-proofed – both climatically and mentally.
