Coster Cophenhagen

We don’t know where Coster Copenhagen’s clothes are produced, but we saw on Instagram that they buy fabrics in China. Unfortunately, with this information we cannot conclude anything about the working conditions. 

The brand says they have a close relationship with all their manufacturers and suppliers and have been working with many of them for a long time. However, they also say they need to build their corporate social responsibility plan from a different perspective and start all over. 

Coster Copenhagen also supports the charity Knaek Cancer.

In the sustainability plan, the brand states that they are in transition to more nature-friendly materials. They list some of those materials. 

For example, they name Seawool, a circular material similar to wool made from plastic bottles and oyster shells. They use recycled polyester, of which some suppliers have a GRS ​‘Global Recycle Standard for Recycled Polyester’ or COC, on ​‘Eco Circle Recycled Polyester Fiber’ certificate. We can also see Ecovero Lenzing Viscose, which is made from wood pulp from sustainable sources and is better for the environment than normal viscose. They have clothes made from linen, a material made from flax that needs less water and chemicals than many other natural fibres, and we also find organic cotton. 

In reality, these materials are not (yet) used much for Coster Copenhagen clothes and if they are used, they are usually mixed with another material. The brand has few garments made from mono materials, which means that the composition of fabrics often consists of different types of textile fibres. Not all polyester is recycled and not all cotton is organic. Besides Seawool, we also find animal wools in jumpers, such as alpaca and sheep wool.

The brand uses recycled polyester for some of its garments, but the recyclability of Coster’s clothing is an issue. Many materials are mixed, sometimes they even consist of three different types of fibres. They are not using mono-materials which makes it difficult to separate the fibres and then recycle them.

The Coster Copenhagen clothing is designed in Denmark. We do not know where it is made. According to their Instagram stories, they buy the fabrics (partly) at a large fabric market in Guangzhou, China (International Textile City), so we can safely say that the brand does not have a short chain.

Coster Copenhagen uses animal materials in some of its garments, including sheep wool and alpaca wool for jumpers. We also find silk in shirts and dresses from Coster. Silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of silkworms. The brand sells skirts and trousers made from lamb’s leather. Coster Copenhagen does not say anything about the conditions in which all these animals live. Unfortunately, we cannot assume that they have a good life.

Coster Copenhagen describes their internal brand ​‘CC Heart’ as the core of their brand. The collection of this sub-brand consists of timeless basics for every woman, showing a slow fashion ethos. In this sub-brand, they leave out the seasonal approach. Their regular collections are not extremely trend dependent but they do use distinctive designs and prints that you can get bored of. The brand is keen on making quality clothes so that you can enjoy them for a long time.

Coster Copenhagen is not very transparent. They do not share anything about the production countries and working conditions in the factories. Also, on their sustainability page they talk about GOTS, OCS100, GRS and OEKO-TEX certifications but the numbers of their certificates are not available.

The brand states that they map their production and therefore have traceability within their supply chain. They probably have an overview of the origin of their clothing, but it is still unclear to us.