The Motivation
How it all began.
The idea for CARPASUS was born in 2013 when the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in April in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 textile workers. Notably this event prompted the CARPASUS founders to reflect on how and under what environmental and social conditions our clothing and raw materials are made.
Sensitized to these problems, they looked for clothes that met their standards for quality and style, as well as defined standards for production. A particular garment combining style and quality was particularly difficult to find: the men's shirt.
The men's shirt is one of the most important pieces of clothing for men. It accompanies men day in and day out. The shirt must fit well. It has to be comfortable, easy to iron, durable and make us look great.
Convinced that it is also possible to create a high-quality shirt made from non-synthetic materials under transparent working conditions and with defined production standards, the team talked to suppliers and potential customers, visited fairs and even travelled to the origins of raw materials and production sites to learn more about the places and people behind the shirt.
2015
First Collection.
The idea for CARPASUS was born in 2013 when the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in April in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 textile workers. This event prompted the CARPASUS founders to reflect on how and under what environmental and social conditions our clothing and raw materials are made.
Convinced that it is also possible to create a high-quality shirt made from organic cotton under transparent working conditions and with defined production standards, the team talked to suppliers and potential customers, visited fairs and even travelled to the origins of raw materials and production sites to learn more about the places and people behind the shirt.
Finally, in 2015, the first CARPASUS shirt collection was launched.
2015 - 2022
Making ourselves a name.
In our early years, we focused on dress shirts. We started making ourselves a name as a shirt brand that combines style and quality. Slowly, the collection expanded to a broader range of shirt styles, such as flannel and linen shirts – staying true to our values and offering high-quality shirts made from materials such as organic cotton and linen.
When the brand was first founded, we operated from an office near Hubertus in Zurich, where we spent several years growing and developing our vision. In October 2022, we moved our headquarters and office to St. Gallen. However, Zurich remains an important location for us, continuing to play a key role in our brand's story and development.
2022 - today
And the journey continues.
Years after the launch of the first shirt collection, the brand has developed strongly. The shirt is still our main product. However, CARPASUS also offers a range of other essential garments for the modern man's wardrobe, such as overshirts, T-shirts, trousers and sweaters. Always designed using high-quality materials to bring our customers comfort and joy.
CARPASUS is led by René Grünenfelder and his team. The CARPASUS collections are now available in stores in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Austria and continue to reach more customers.
Today, we are proud to have a loyal community of fans and customers who love and appreciate our quality and the way we do business. Ten years after our start, the fashion industry still faces numerous social and environmental challenges. Our generation of brands needs to rethink the status quo of how fashion is produced and consumed. As for us, we will continue to work towards a more resource-efficient fashion industry in the future. We strive to make a difference – one shirt at a time.
The origin of the brand name and the mallard duck.
The name CARPASUS derives from three words: Carbasina (Latin: fine cloth), karpasi (Sanskrit: cotton) and sustinere (Latin: preserved). As a symbol we chose the mallard duck, the "duck with the green collar". It represents our values and can be found today on every right sleeve vent of the CARPASUS shirts. The mallard duck lives in harmony with nature on land, in the water and in the air and symbolizes the elegance, spirit, flexibility it needs for working together and living with different cultures.
