Nestled in the Bavarian town of Hersbruck, Création Gross GmbH & Co. KG has been shaping men’s fashion since 1925. Today, with 240 employees and its two brands, CARL GROSS and CG – CLUB of GENTS, the company combines a long tradition of tailoring with modern design and an evolving approach to materials and textile production.
As the fashion industry has changed, Création Gross has continued to develop its sourcing and production processes alongside its focus on quality. In 2021, the company became GOTS-certified, introducing a defined certification framework into this work.
For Création Gross, pursuing certification was about more than adding a label to qualifying products. It also meant working with defined requirements and incorporating them into relevant internal processes and supplier relationships.
“We chose to pursue GOTS certification because it provides a way for us to work with verifiable requirements for the organic fibres used in qualifying products. In our GOTS-certified products, we primarily use wool, linen and cotton. The social criteria within the GOTS framework also provide defined requirements that form part of the certification process,” explains a company spokesperson.
GOTS applies one consistent programme across textile processing after raw fibre production, including first processing, manufacturing and trading. It sets defined environmental and social requirements within its certification scope.
For Création Gross, working with this framework has also meant reviewing processes internally and working with suppliers on the requirements relevant to certification.
The company’s two brands bring this approach into different areas of menswear. CARL GROSS combines modern tailoring with classic influences, while CG – CLUB of GENTS brings a more contemporary, urban character to its collections.
“Fashion that looks great, feels amazing, and fits perfectly,” is how a company spokesperson describes the aim. For Création Gross, certification sits alongside that focus on design and tailoring as another defined element of how qualifying products are made.
GOTS has also become part of the company’s work on human rights due diligence. The Standard includes social and due-diligence requirements within its certification scope, providing a framework through which relevant risks and measures can be considered and assessed.
“The Standard’s focus on social criteria helps us identify risks and consider preventive action as part of our due diligence processes,” says one executive.
As Création Gross approaches its second century, the company plans to continue developing its due diligence processes and its work with GOTS certification. After a century of tailoring, the next chapter for Création Gross is therefore one of continued development: bringing its experience in menswear together with defined requirements for materials, textile processing and due diligence as the company looks to the future.
