A collaborative interview with Matthias Koehler (founder/ managing director) ft. The Coffee Jacket Team.
At the crossroads of creativity, craftsmanship, and coffee culture, THE COFFEE JACKET is a symbol of unconventional fashion with purpose. Their innovative approach - upcycling discarded coffee sacks into stylish, sustainable clothing perfectly embodies a blend of values that I hold dear.
I find THE COFFEE JACKET represents more than just clothing; it’s a story woven with care, creativity, and environmental consciousness. That’s why I wanted to share their story. For those who love coffee, appreciate bold fashion choices, and value the beauty of sustainability, THE COFFEE JACKET feels like a natural fit, that resonates deeply with our community.
What inspired you to start turning coffee sacks into clothing, and what was the initial vision for the brand?
The story of THE COFFEE JACKET began 1.5 years ago in a coffee-roasting house in Hamburg, Germany. While enjoying a conversation and red wine with a friend, a bottle tipped over, spilling wine onto an empty coffee sack. In the dim light, the wine stains resembled a jacket, sparking the idea to create one from the coffee sack. Though working as a top manager in the global financial sector at the time, the idea captivated me, leading to my decision to leave the corporate world behind and pursue this dream. With support from tailors, I developed the first prototype, and the concept of The Coffee Jacket took shape, changing my life in the process.
What is the process behind selecting coffee sacks for your clothing? How do you ensure they meet the quality standards necessary for fashion items?
The first and most significant criteria when selecting coffee sacks for THE COFFEE JACKET is the composition of the jute fabric that the sack is made of. Only 100% pure breathing jute fibres are used for the outer material of our clothing. This being a natural fibre, jute also adapts to its owner's warmth and wearing behaviour, over time becoming the owner’s second skin. You just slip in it after some time.
A coffee sack must also remain intact after being opened by a machine or person. We only select bags that are in exceptionally good condition. So much so, that each coffee sack is carefully handpicked. The only exception we make is for slight variations in the jute’s texture, which are special detailing that display the coffee sack's long journey — from the coffee farm to the roasting house in its previous life. These traces on the jute are part of THE COFFEE JACKET’s signature look.
Our jackets are always crafted with a passion for details and the coffee sack’s history, each clothing piece is produced in limited batches by upcycling used coffee sacks made from eco-friendly jute. Our production process is non-invasive and gentle on the environment, which fills us with pride to be recognized as a truly sustainable brand.
How do you balance sustainability with the demands of fashion? What challenges have you faced in maintaining your commitment to upcycling and eco-friendly practices?
We pour our heart and soul into creating a truly sustainable fashion product, balancing style with eco-consciousness at every step.
THE COFFEE JACKET is designed to become a part of your daily life, it is intended to be its owner’s everyday companion. Bringing comfort and joy the more you wear it. In fact, it often takes a few weeks to fully appreciate just how comfortable it becomes. However, crafting a jacket exclusively from upcycled jute sacks is no easy feat.
Our first challenge was sourcing suitable coffee sacks. Most sacks are torn open by machines at roasting houses, leaving them damaged and unusable. But even when we found the right sacks, jute is considered a rough material.
To address this, we set out to refine and enhance it as much as possible. We lined the inside with silky-soft 100% viscose, ensuring a comfortable, luxurious feel. To reinforce areas prone to wear, like elbow patches, collars, and pockets, we used premium-quality Austrian loden made from 100% virgin merino wool, perfectly color-matched to the lining. This not only adds durability but extends the life of the jacket. For an eco-chic finishing touch, we chose Mediterranean olive wood buttons that blend seamlessly with the jute.
For our College Jacket designs, we introduced vibrant, double-layered elastic cuffs that complement the jacket’s colorful interior. We also used extra-durable titanium zippers, carefully matched in color to the jacket’s vibrant inner lining and cuffs, adding both style and strength.
At every stage, we face challenges, but our commitment to upcycling and sustainability pushes us to innovate, ensuring that each Coffee Jacket is as environmentally friendly as it is timelessly fashionable.
How do you measure the impact of your work on reducing waste in the coffee industry?
Each Jacket is a slow-fashion product - there is so much handwork behind every piece. We do not even make any big promotional campaigns, because we are and intend to remain a niche product. We craft literally one-off pieces. Thus, we wouldn’t claim that we “dress up” tens or hundreds of thousands of people in “green" garments. That would not be true.
In fashion, as in any art, the golden rule is: the more unique, the more desired. This is the essence of our brand. We aim to be both style-conscious and eco-conscious, offering something truly unique through upcycling. Our mission is to give fashion-forward individuals a way to express their environmental awareness in a bold, non-boring way, drawing attention to sustainability and encouraging others to rethink their relationship with the environment. Starting, perhaps, with fashion. This is the heart and soul of THE COFFEE JACKET.
Have you partnered with any coffee brands or other sustainable fashion initiatives?
Predictably, most of our collaborations so far have been with coffee-related companies. We frequently receive requests from both large and small coffee trading houses, roasters, and others to create jackets from their branded coffee sacks for their staff and management.
In July 2019, the Deutsches Museum featured The Coffee Jacket in its special year-long "Cosmos Coffee" exhibition. In 2020, we launched an exclusive spring-summer collection featuring men’s, women’s, and unisex jackets, for the Starbucks Reserve Stores in New York, Chicago, and Seattle. The College Jacket in particular consistently ranked among the Top 5 best-selling items each week. We’ve also had vlogger Luisito Comunica showcase our jackets in his video about the Starbucks Reserve in Chicago. These collaborations are ones we are incredibly proud of, and have expanded our reach into North America, introducing The Coffee Jacket to thousands of new, enthusiastic customers. Each of these collaborations have been a major success and a significant milestone for our small company.
What’s next for The Coffee Jacket, are there any new products, materials, or initiatives on the horizon that you’re excited about and can share?
We like to let things take their course. But new designs, new prints, new markets and new collaborations is what we are constantly focused on.
In a world where fashion and sustainability often seem at odds, THE COFFEE JACKET showcases that creativity and conscience can seamlessly coexist. They beautifully transform coffee sacks into stylish, meaningful clothing, reminding us that even the most unexpected materials can tell a powerful story.
