We greatly value the significant development of our company. To a large extent, we owe this to the people involved in our business, most importantly, the people who manufacture our products. Bangladesh therefore holds a special significance for STRAUSS. Over the years, it has become our company’s most important sourcing country, which is why we continue to invest in this region.
It all began in 2006 with simple T-shirts. Today, together with our local partners, we manufacture products that meet the highest textile standards. One of our more complex cargo trousers, for example, consists of around 200 individual pieces and can take up to three to four working hours to produce. This requires teamwork and expertise.
CAMPUS IN THE RICE FIELDS
A key milestone was the opening of the CI Factory Chattogram in southern Bangladesh in 2022. Together with our partner, we built the “Campus in the Rice Fields”, which includes a Workwear Academy and an attached small-batch production facility.
Together with the CI Factory in Germany, which began operations in 2020, this site forms an international production partnership. The Campus in the Rice Fields has two core areas: small-batch production and development. It enables customized products in small quantities (from 4 to 499 units) to be manufactured, new processing technologies to be tested and emerging talent to receive practical training. Its close proximity to our long-standing production partners promotes the direct exchange of knowledge and experience.
INTEGRATED INTO MODERN PRODUCTION INFRASTRUCTURE
Right next door is the vertically integrated large-scale production facility of one of our production partners, handling orders of 500 units or more. Here, fabrics and components are also manufactured, covering the entire process from cotton to trousers.
Ultrasonic fabric welding, automated digital pattern cutting and the development of innovative pocket constructions: the state-of-the-art machinery enables pioneering advances in product development. The employment opportunities provided by this large-scale production site allow several thousand people to work in close proximity to where they live. A number of our partner facilities operate technically advanced machinery and equipment. Together with our partners, we work to assess and improve working conditions at these facilities.
EDUCATION PROJECTS
Another cornerstone of our commitment in Bangladesh is the targeted development of skills and capabilities. Together with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), STRAUSS has established the Chair for Sustainability and Textile Innovation in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital. It educates future leaders of the country’s textile industry. In cooperation with the Don Bosco Mission organization, we have also established a school in north-western Bangladesh, supporting access to comprehensive education in the country.
OUR CONVICTION
Bangladesh continues to face social and environmental challenges. This makes it even more important for us to assume long-term responsibility, together with our partners. By investing in technical infrastructure and education, we help create the conditions needed to manufacture sophisticated products and thereby strengthening professional development, employment and local value creation.
Through long-term partnerships and education projects, we aim to help unlock the considerable potential of the country and its people.
“Bangladesh impressed me from the very beginning. I met people there with the courage to invest and a genuine enthusiasm for innovation. Together with our long-standing partners, we have been able to create conditions in which highly sophisticated products can be manufactured—and that also means greater value creation in Bangladesh.”
Henning Strauss
MORE IMAGES OF THE CI FACTORY IN BANGLADESH
