How COYA is made
one region. one journey.
this is how COYA intimates is made: where every part comes from, who makes it, and how far it travels before it reaches you.
our fabrics are made and dyed in the guangzhou area in china, close to the small, women-owned atelier that cuts and sews every piece. the components come from the same region. the finished pieces then make one journey, to the netherlands.
our chain, next to a longer one
here is how a COYA piece is made, next to an example of how long a garment's route can be. the example is an illustration, not a specific brand, and we've left out distances on purpose: we only show what we can stand behind.
how COYA is made
making in one region, finished pieces travel once
an example of a longer chain
illustrative: steps spread over several countries and traders
- fibregrown or produced in country A
- yarnspun in country B
- yarn tradersold on
- fabricwoven or knitted in country C
- dyeing and finishingin country D
- fabric wholesalersold on again
- trimselastic, labels and hardware from country E
- cut and sewnin country F, the "made in" country
- distributorand brand warehouse
- you
a "made in" label usually names the country where a garment was sewn. it doesn't tell you where the fabric was made, or how many hands and borders came before.
every part, and where it's made
here is each part of a COYA piece, what it's made of, and what is certified. where a part isn't certified, we say so.
| part | made of | where it's made | certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| silk fabric | 100% mulberry silk, grade 6A, 16 momme, double-layered | woven and dyed in the guangzhou area | the dyed fabric: OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, product class I (26.HCN.19796, Hohenstein) |
| nectar™ knit | 81% modal (TENCEL™ Modal), 9% mulberry silk, 10% elastane (ROICA™ V550) | knitted and dyed in the guangzhou area | details follow when the cloud collection launches |
| gusset | 100% cotton | guangzhou area | not separately certified |
| elastic | not a natural fibre; in the silk collection it is fully wrapped in silk | guangzhou area | not separately certified |
| label | soft cotton sateen | guangzhou area | not separately certified |
| hardware | small gold-tone details | guangzhou area | not separately certified |
| cutting & sewing | in small batches | our small, women-owned atelier, guangzhou area | n/a |
| packing | hang tag on cotton string, tissue and a small card | the netherlands | n/a |
the OEKO-TEX® certificate belongs to our fabric maker and covers the fabric, not the finished piece. the finished pieces as a whole are not certified yet.
why one region
fewer hands
fabric, components and sewing within one region means fewer traders and handovers between them, and fewer places where things get lost or changed.
one conversation
we talk directly with the people who make our fabrics and sew our pieces. when something isn't right, we can fix it quickly.
small runs
our long-term partner supports us with niche fabrics in small quantities. that lets us make only what is needed, in small batches.
quick answers
where is COYA intimates made?
our fabrics are made and dyed in the guangzhou area in china, and every piece is cut and sewn in a small, women-owned atelier in the same region. the finished pieces travel once, to the netherlands, where we pack and ship them.
where do the fibres come from?
the fibres are the one thing that comes from further away: raw mulberry silk from silk farmers, TENCEL™ Modal fibre made by Lenzing, and ROICA™ V550 stretch made by Asahi Kasei.
why does COYA produce in china?
because we needed custom fabrics, made in small quantities, at the quality we wanted. in the guangzhou area we found a long-term partner who could make them with us, and an atelier that specialises in intimates.
is the whole piece certified?
not yet. the dyed silk fabric is certified to OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, product class I (26.HCN.19796, Hohenstein). the certificate covers the fabric, not the finished piece. certifying the finished pieces is on our list as COYA grows.
read the full story
who is behind COYA, what our pieces are made of, and what we're still working on.
TENCEL™ is a trademark of Lenzing AG. ROICA™ is a trademark of Asahi Kasei.