TAUKO wraps you in ideology

The number of bed linen, tablecloths and other textiles in the hotels and restaurants of the world is immense; and they’re constantly used, washed, used again, and discarded. Mila Moisio and Kaisa Rissanen, the co-founders of TAUKO, don’t want to see high-quality and well-kept fabrics being burnt en masse.

“There’s a huge textile waste issue, but it’s not particularly talked about in the general consumer market,” Moisio explains. “Many textile companies are by default keen to co-operate, as for them it’s just as saddening to see vast amounts of good material dumped.”

TAUKO’s mission is to design and produce womenswear that weaves together contemporary art, design and respect for sustainable values. Every year, it launches two collections made from local, discarded rental textiles and other raw materials such as surplus knits, yarns and organic wool. Most of the materials come from the textile partners of Finnish and German restaurants and hotels.

Together with its collaborators, TAUKO is always looking for new methods to utilise recycled materials. The production itself takes place in Finland and Estonia.

From Cuban poetry to political fashion

TAUKO was founded in 2008, initially as a side project, but it has slowly and organically grown into an international business. The concept created by Moisio and Rissanen is unique, at least on a commercial scale. However, neither of them has a background in fashion or textiles: they’ve both got degrees in art research.

“The topic of my master’s thesis was Cuban poetry,” Moisio says laughingly. “So we’re self-taught in that respect, and in the beginning our contacts were mainly in art and theatre.”

On the brink of graduation, the two friends were wondering what to do next. They had already sewn their own clothes and, as Moisio describes them, were both dyed-in-the-wool idealists.

“We share the same set of strong values, and TAUKO is based on our belief that running a business can have a more direct impact on our society and its structures than academic research. It’s all pretty political for us.”

Actually, TAUKO wouldn’t exist to begin with if its founders didn’t think they could do business sustainably and use it for bettering the world. Moisio says the changes in consumer behaviour are inevitable, and big brands seem to be taking note of them, too. She believes that, in a few decades, sustainability won’t be a selling point but something that’s expected of everyone.

Not just recycled sheets

Despite the omnipresence of the company’s core values, TAUKO doesn’t appeal only to socially and environmentally aware fashionistas. Moisio emphasises that the quality and originality of design are just as important.

“Not all our clients really think about the ethical aspects, they’re more interested in our style. That’s no problem: we sell design, not recycled sheets.”

Be it because of values or fashion, TAUKO has attracted customers in its core markets, Finland and German-speaking Europe. The reason the duo chose Germany as their base in continental Europe is that there’s pretty much an endless supply of raw materials that suit the company’s purposes.

“Initially we were concerned that our production wasn’t scalable to international markets because we might run out of materials,” Moisio tells. “Finding partners abroad also helped us to realise the immense scale of the issue, as we understood how much textile is actually going to waste globally.”

The word ‘tauko’ means ‘a break’ in English. For Moisio, it was important to find a meaningful name for the company – bear in mind, she has written an entire thesis on poetry.

“As a word, tauko is also handy. Unlike many Finnish words, it has no ä or ö letters, and it’s not that long or difficult to pronounce.”