About a year ago, the fashion retailer C&A announced that it wanted to set up a production facility for denim in Mönchengladbach. The first products are now available: the first collection, made in the new production facility C&A FIT (Factory for Innovation in Textiles), is available online.
The so-called “Forever Denim” collection includes six different designs, three each for men and women. Women can choose between two straight fits and flared jeans. For men there are straight fits and a tapered fit. Various shades of blue are also part of the range, including light, medium and dark washes. The first collection is available exclusively online and throughout Europe at a price of 59.99 euros. The second collection with a larger selection of products and colors is scheduled to go online in August 2022. It will then also be available in selected branches for the first time.
What is special about the new factory is the combination of digitization of production and the pursuit of sustainable production criteria. The jeans are manufactured in Mönchengladbach in a carbon-free process using materials from Europe, including GOTS- or OCS-certified organic cotton denim from the Italian denim weaver Candiani.
C&A FIT is an experimental Industry 4.0 location where all machines exchange production data with each other. This networking makes it possible to automate the production processes as much as possible. An example is the automatic pocket setter as one of the elements of the sewing process. Driven by automation and robotics, the advanced digitization of production is a key to higher productivity. Only then can a production location like Germany also pay off economically. In line with the idea of the micro-factories, C&A not only wants to make production more sustainable, but also bring it closer to the consumer. If all goes well, the C&A FIT should serve as a blueprint for further production facilities in other parts of the world.