Our production is the core piece.

mey stands for a long tradition, a wealth of experience and a clear ethos. As a family-run business, we have been thinking and acting across generations for almost 100 years – with a focus on enduring values: quality, long-term partnerships and appreciation for the people behind our products.

Even today, we manufacture over half of our products in our own factories in Germany, Portugal and Hungary. From the yarn, through the fabric and cutting, right through to the finished product – the majority of the value is created in Europe. 

54 % Own production

33 % CMT (cut-make-trim)

13 % Full merchandise

1.

We create new items and patterns, improve and optimise existing designs, and add charming little touches. When designing new items, we prioritise high quality and durability. High-quality fabrics and meticulous craftsmanship ensure that our products can be worn for many years to come. 

2.

The clothing industry’s production chain begins with the production of raw materials. One of the most important raw materials in the textile value chain is cotton. For example, we source our high-quality Peruvian Pima cotton yarn from a supplier in Peru with whom we have been working for over 40 years. During a visit to Piura, Peru, Florian Mey was able to gain an insight into cotton cultivation, where the crop is harvested by hand and no defoliants are used.

Transparency and the verification of conditions on the ground are an integral part of our collaboration with this long-standing partner. 

3.

Innovation in the development of yarns and fabrics is one of our greatest strengths. 

We source our yarns from various European and European-based partner companies that share our standards of quality and yarn fineness, including regional partners such as the Otto spinning mill in Germany. The yarns we use are characterised by their fineness and exceptional quality and form the basis for mey's first-class underwear. We develop and test numerous new material and yarn combinations in order to produce the perfect fabrics for our products. Our fabrics are designed to last for a long time, are soft to the touch and are intended to be extremely comfortable to wear. 

4.

With our extensive range of different knitting machines, we manufacture 91 per cent of our fabrics at our head office in Albstadt (Germany). 

We manufacture our fabrics on almost 100 individually configured knitting machines at our company headquarters in Albstadt (Germany). Our machinery includes both body width machines, which produce circular knitted fabric tubes that can then be cut into tops and bottoms without side seams, and machines for producing wide fabrics. This is also circular knitted, but is then cut open directly on one side and rolled onto a roll. This creates a normal fabric web. The circular knitting machines require a separate knitting machine for each clothing size. Since no side seams are required later, the circular fabric tube must correspond exactly to the clothing size of the garment to be produced. 

5.

By treating our fabrics using the jet-shrinking system and calenders, we reduce the subsequent shrinkage of the garments to as little as 4 per cent. We take this figure into account right from the pattern-making stage, so that the product still fits as well as it did on the first day, even after many washes. The jet-shrinking system treats the fabrics in a similar way to a standard tumble dryer, only on a larger scale. As a result, the fabric loses 10% of its potential longitudinal shrinkage.

MEY LINGERIE IS BLEACHED AND DYED WITHOUT CHLORINE

We work in partnership with regional finishing companies. As our products are worn directly against the skin, we ensure that our colours and prints comply with strict standards and guidelines.

Certification to the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 ensures that all finished and semi-finished products are tested for prohibited or restricted harmful substances and chemicals that are harmful to health. 

6.

mey underwear is bleached and coloured chlorine-free under the strictest regulations for people and the environment. 

We work together with regional equipment partners. As our underwear touches the skin directly, we adhere to the strictest standards and guidelines for colours and prints.

All our colours must last for many washes and must not discolour or fade. We test these properties in an endurance wash test.

The introduction of STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certification guarantees the colour fastness and testing of harmful substances of all end and preliminary products by the OEKO-TEX® Institute. 

6.

Our expert knowledge, combined with the use of punching machines and modern automatic cutting machines, ensures a consistently high level of precision.

The punching machine is primarily used to cut out shirts and briefs that have been knitted as seamless tubular fabric. Cutting with the CAD cutter is fully automated. To ensure the dimensional accuracy of the cut pieces, no more than 25 layers of fabric are processed in a single operation.

Technically speaking, it would certainly be possible to cut significantly more layers at the same time with the cutter; however, the cut pieces would then differ slightly from one another. This is incompatible with our high quality standards. 

7.

Special techniques and care are used to create the perfect fit. 

To ensure a high level of comfort, we place great importance on a high stitch density (up to 13 stitches per centimetre) when sewing. This helps to ensure the seam is highly elastic. High-quality materials and meticulous workmanship form the basis of our products’ quality.

To ensure quality, we inspect the products after every stage of production. Only then can we produce a final product that impresses across the board: thanks to its first-class materials and precise workmanship.