Clara Hjelt creates clothes from JYSK textiles

Various JYSK textiles such as bedding and sheets made in the wrong size are transformed into handmade clothing by the Danish designer Clara Hjelt.

One day in the fall of 2019, clothing designer Clara Hjelt was talking to her roommate, who had apparently read something about JYSK burning excess goods that could not be sold.

“I couldn't find anything about it on the web, so it was probably another company. But I decided to contact JYSK anyway to find out if you had any excess textiles that I might be able to put to good use,” says Clara Hjelt, who lives in Copenhagen.

Initially, Clara Hjelt got a batch of the yellow bed linen ELLEN, which unfortunately was produced in the wrong size and therefore could not be sold in any of JYSK's markets.

Clara Hjelt has now transformed some of the bed linens into short-sleeved shirts and shorts, which she sells on her own webshop at Hjeltbrand.com.

“I'm not making money from it yet, but that is definitely the ambition. I spend about 15-20 hours producing each product. First I have to pick up the fabrics, then they have to be ironed and steamed, cut out, 'fixed' on some parts, and finally they have to be sewn together,” explains Clara Hjelt.

Together on good values

Clara Hjelt does not like the idea of mass production, so the collaboration with a large, international company like JYSK could perhaps make some raise their eyebrows.

“In the ideal world, nothing was produced that could not be used. But when you are as big as JYSK, it is almost inevitable to have some processes that do not end up exactly as they should be,” says Clara and adds:

“I think it's a pretty nice cycle that I can transform JYSK's discarded textiles into unique and usable clothes, and at the same time help lead the fashion industry in the right direction when it comes to overproduction, global warming and excessive CO2 footprint."

Before the collaboration, Clara Hjelt also read up on JYSK's sustainability profile and was thoroughly acquainted with JYSK's approach to animal welfare, which she herself very much supports.

"It's always a huge plus when you can collaborate with a company with good values," she says.

Neat and sustainable

So far, Clara Hjelt has received a very positive response to her creations. But she also knows that some will be skeptical, and that people need time to understand and get used to such a new, sustainable clothing concept.

“Some would probably think that you can't make something as classic as a shirt out of a sheet. But I would like to disprove this by making cool clothes that have great design, have a low energy consumption and at the same time are produced sustainably and with a minimal carbon footprint,” says Clara Hjelt and continues:

“It is important to me that I can both look good and do something good at the same time - and that is also true for my customers. The quality of JYSK's textiles is high, which means that my customers like the clothes and the design possibilities are many.”

The collaboration between JYSK and HJELT is ongoing, and the latest products are a pair of blue and white summer shirts made with textile from JYSK pillowcases.