C&A’s experiment to produce jeans locally is coming to an end. This month the European fashion retailer shuttered the Factory for Innovation in Textiles (FIT) in Mönchengladbach, Germany. In a statement, C&A said investment into FIT was part of the company’s ongoing efforts to test and explore new and sustainable production methods. The objective was to determine whether this model of producing in Europe could lower production costs while increasing volume.
“After a careful review of the results, we have decided to discontinue the FIT factory operations, as the initiative did not meet the expectations set in the original business case. While this was a difficult decision, testing new approaches is a fundamental part of how we operate. We constantly explore new opportunities, and while some trials may not succeed, they always provide valuable insights for future initiatives,” C&A stated. The carbon-neutral factory opened in the fall of 2021, following the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which derailed supply chains around the world.
C&A touted best-in-class technology for FIT, including automated processes throughout the jeans laundry and sewing stages of production. The retailer worked with the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, the Textile Academy NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia), RWTH Aachen University and various startups to develop the facility and onboard 100 staff members. C&A aimed to initially produce 400,000 jeans per year and eventually double its capacity to 800,000 jeans per year. At the time of the factory’s opening, Giny Boer, then-CEO of C&A Europe, said the company was “thrilled to be producing in the heart of Europe again” and said the automated setup would create new standards for global production. C&A introduced its first line of jeans made at FIT a year later. Called Forever Denim, the “Made in Europe” collection offered three jean styles apiece for men and for women. The $65 jeans were made with local organic cotton and Tencel.
C&A promoted the jeans and new factory in a targeted social media push encouraging users to virtually look inside the facility and meet some of the workers. Last year, C&A debuted flooring material created from surplus denim material collected at FIT. The retailer applied the innovative flooring solution to stores in Vienna and Madrid.
