Koda Amsterdam

This brand produces its accessories in Dutch workshops. This is great because Dutch labour rules are in force there, but also because koda amsterdam specifically chooses social workshops which provide people with training to develop their talents. These are people who are outside of the labour force and allows them to be reintegrated. 

Depending on the skills needed for the specific design, the products are made in different workshops. Pantar Amsterdam, where most of koda’s accessories are made with love, care and pride, employs people who have difficulties (re)integrating the labour market and gives them the chance to develop their skills and talent here. 

The Wereldwijven atelier Dordrecht brings together over 85 women from different cultures. Social commitment, craftsmanship and creativity are paramount here. koda makes the most of the high-quality embroidery techniques used in this atelier by producing its blankets here. 

The team at ONS Label Breda loves needle and thread, colours, patterns and quality fabrics. In this lively workshop, newcomers, starters and trainees get to work on koda amsterdam’s cool accessories. 

koda amsterdam’s accessories are made from clippings or leftover fabrics. These are pieces of fabric that, in the case of koda amsterdam, are left over from cutting fabric for curtains, furniture and tents. They come from furniture manufacturer De Ploeg, window decoration company Luxaflex, bed manufacturer Auping and Karsten Tenten. 

Due to different fabrics being left over each time, it is difficult to say what the products are precisely composed of. The bags made from Karsten tent fabric are cotton canvas, while those from De Ploeg are mostly made from natural materials such as wool.

Leather is used for the handles of the bags or the zip loops of the cases. This is ​“new” leather, but it is vegetable tanned so no harmful chemicals are used. The labels are made from polyester and the zips are metal. 

koda amsterdam is circular! By upcycling fabric clippings, they ensure raw materials that would otherwise have gone to landfill are given a new life. The accessories also last a long time because the furniture fabric is tough and really good quality.

koda amsterdam has a short chain. The design phase happens in the Netherlands, the materials are collected from Dutch companies and the final accessories are made in the Netherlands.

Animal materials are used in most koda amsterdam pieces but only small quantities of cow leather are used. Leather is usually a by-product of the meat industry, want to know more about the sustainability of leather? Then read this blog. koda amsterdam is also looking for vegan alternatives to leather, but these are not always sturdy or eco-friendly. 

Some bags or cases are made out of wool but because this wool is reused, no new sheep had to be sheared for it. It would be a shame if this wool ended up in landfill instead, right?

All of the pieces are designed by Dutch designers. They base their designs on the various clippings of curtain fabric, furniture upholstery and tents that frequently come in. Talented people outside of the labour force transform these into pencil cases, bags, cushions and blankets in Dutch social workshops. 

koda amsterdam turns ​“waste” into beautiful objects where quality and beauty are the number one priority. 

Founder Diana always pays attention to quality when selecting fabrics so that your koda amsterdam accessories will last as long as possible.

koda amsterdam’s designs are timeless and colourful. Most accessories come in loads of different colours so you can choose the one that suits you the most. Their designs are simple and stylish.

The fabrics are always the starting point in these Dutch designers’ creative process. When Diana, the founder of koda amsterdam sees that a certain fabric leads to a lot of offcuts, she asks the designers what they can do with it and they get to work. This is how koda works with Nikki Giling, Roos Soetekouw and Marieke van Heck, who each have their own creative style. 

Transparency is very important to koda amsterdam which is why each product has a label indicating the number of the bag, the name of the designer and where the fabric came from. You will also find detailed descriptions on their website for the fabric suppliers and the ateliers where the accessories are made. 

Only the origin of the leather and the zips and yarn are unknown.