Our History
The idea for Kotn came to be during a hot summer in New York, where Ben, Mackenzie and Rami called home at the time. Everyone they knew seemed to be wearing the same uniform: a plain white tee. The problem? These tees were either “cheap” and felt more like sandpaper than cotton, or they cost upwards of $100 dollars, so were too expensive to wear regularly. The thing was, no matter which one you chose, the conditions the clothes were manufactured in were a big question mark.
In the fall of 2015, Rami went to Egypt for a family wedding but, with the above thought in mind, ended up spending five months living in a cotton farming village learning everything he could about Egyptian cotton and the supply chain.
The three moved back to Toronto, and in April 2016, Kotn was born with three men’s T-shirts: the very first version of the men's Essential Crew and the beginning of the Kotn journey.
In March 2017, Kotn expanded into retail, opening its flagship store in Toronto’s West Queen West, (now Ossington) creating a home-like space where customers could explore the Kotn product and world in person. In September 2017, Kotn became B Corp certified: a community of businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
