Story of Koup

The story of KOUP started with the love for the outdoors and our planet. Our co-founder, Brian, while working in the textiles industry, witnessed first hand the damaging effect the industry is having on the planet. With the rise of fast fashion, products are becoming less durable and textile wastes are created at an astonishing pace, with landfills being the most common destination. As performance clothing grew in popularity for sports and outdoor activities, harmful chemicals are frequently used to enhance textile performance, at the expense of polluting the environment.

In 2019, KOUP was born to change this. You might ask, "what’s the meaning behind the name KOUP?" We took it from the French phrase, “coup d'etat”, signifying our stance against the status quo and strive for change. Performance without sacrificing sustainability is in our brand DNA and circularity is our holy grail.

Our maiden product is our signature cinnamon t-shirt which is made from recycled bottles and cinnamon extract. We use recycled bottles with the aim to reduce single-use plastic waste and cinnamon extract for its natural anti-odour performance and to extend the lifetime of the t-shirt. Cinnamon also replaces the use of toxic chemicals and heavy metals so we reduce water pollution and damage to the environment. We introduced our t-shirt on Kickstarter and were over 1000% funded with over 500 backers. We were also selected as a “PROJECT WE LOVE” by Kickstarter’s own panel in recognition for our innovation and what our brand stood for.