How Düsseldorf Is Rethinking Sustainable Jeans

Heiko Wunder – wunderwerk

Heiko Wunder is one of Düsseldorf’s fashion entrepreneurs who embraced sustainability long before it became a major industry topic. When he founded wunderwerk in 2012, more responsible production was intended to be part of the business model from the outset – without compromising on fashion. Düsseldorf is not only where the company is based, but also home: Wunder was born here, and his grandparents lived on Lorettostraße for more than 50 years. Today, he is rediscovering the city – as a fashion destination, a creative neighbourhood and a starting point for the question of how credible sustainability can work in a challenging industry.

Heiko, what does wunderwerk stand for today – and what was important to you from the very beginning?

Actually, not that much has changed since we founded the company. We started as a fashion brand. Today, there are many more sustainable labels making great fashion where you no longer see that stereotypical ​“eco” factor at all. Back then, that was much more difficult, but that was exactly our approach from the start: to make contemporary fashion in great quality, clothes people feel good in, while still keeping them affordable.

We treated sustainability as a given – our attitude was basically: ​“We’re sustainable anyway.” We didn’t necessarily want to put sustainability front and centre. From a marketing perspective, that may have been a little foolish. On the other hand, it helped us reach wholesale customers we probably never would have attracted with a stereotypically sustainable image.

To this day, we therefore see ourselves as a fashion brand that represents the zeitgeist. We’re not trendsetters, but we’re in tune with the times. At the same time, of course, we consider the entire value chain and the people involved in it.

So sustainability was more of a given for you from the beginning than a marketing tool?

Exactly. For six or seven years, I travelled to the Far East almost every month: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. When you spend time there, you see some of the conditions under which products are made. Every product manager or brand manager who visits these production facilities knows that.

I could never understand how certain conditions could simply be accepted. Just because something is prohibited here doesn’t mean we can say: We’ve fulfilled our responsibility; what happens elsewhere is their problem. I find that hypocritical. A lot of people know exactly what is happening, and still too little is being done.

Düsseldorf is primarily associated with luxury fashion and the Kö. Why is the city still a good location for a brand like wunderwerk?

People deliberately come to Düsseldorf to shop. Half the Ruhr region comes here. Then there are the many events and the city’s huge gastronomic scene. All of that makes Düsseldorf incredibly attractive.

At the same time, we’re seeing that many people are genuinely cutting back on spending, when it comes to shoes and clothing. What’s interesting is that other things have become dramatically more expensive and those price increases have been accepted. Clothing hasn’t increased in price to nearly the same extent.

We have probably raised our prices by around five per cent over five years, for example. But eventually, we reach a limit too. You can’t simply keep making a €149 pair of trousers more expensive. At some point, customers won’t follow.

Younger people in particular have grown up with a completely different understanding of what clothes should cost. Do you notice that?

Definitely. Think about today’s 25-year-olds: ten years ago, they were 15 and could sometimes buy an entire outfit at Primark for the price of one pair of jeans. That price level became normal for them.

I have a 13-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter myself. At some point, teenagers go shopping with their friends, experiment with their style and want more than just a T‑shirt. They want an entire look. At certain retailers, they can afford that with their pocket money.

At the same time, the opposite exists too. Many of our customers have never shopped at Primark and have no interest in doing so.

Regulation around sustainability claims is becoming stricter. Is that more of a burden or an opportunity for brands that are genuinely trying to do things properly?

If you work honestly, I think it’s more of an opportunity. Greenwashing, as it has been practised for many years, will become more difficult. And it isn’t just legislation driving that. Media, influencers and other channels are scrutinising these claims much more closely now.

Of course, we also need to sharpen our external communication. But fundamentally, I think the development is positive.

Denim is a good example. A pair of jeans might be advertised on the basis that very little water was used in its production. Water consumption matters, of course. But the crucial questions are: What happens to that water? Which chemicals are used? Is the water contaminated afterwards?

If a pair of jeans uses less water but that water effectively becomes hazardous waste afterwards, you have to look at the whole equation. I find it problematic to single out individual metrics and use them to make a sustainability claim.

You were born in Düsseldorf and now live in Friedrichstadt, close to Unterbilk, again. Where does the city reveal its more interesting side beyond the Kö?

My grandparents lived on Lorettostraße for more than 50 years, so I more or less grew up around this area. Since moving back, I’ve been rediscovering the neighbourhood.

I find Lorettostraße, Brunnenstraße, Bilker Allee and the area around Aachener Straße incredibly interesting. Brunnenstraße in particular shows how positively a neighbourhood can change. At first, rents are comparatively affordable, creative people move in and open unusual places, and suddenly an entire neighbourhood starts to come alive.

As someone from Düsseldorf, you sometimes travel to Hamburg or other cities and think, ​“This is all so cool.” Meanwhile, you overlook what is happening right outside your own front door.