Duty-free under EU EBA
Bangladesh-made apparel enters France at 0% duty under Everything But Arms, kept three years after LDC graduation under Regulation (EU) 2026/1395.
For French clothing brands · Duty-free under EU EBA · From 100 pieces
Clothing Manufacturer for French Brands
Premium knitwear manufacturing for French brands — duty-free under Everything But Arms, France's 20% import VAT inside one landed price, labels in French, and an office in Amsterdam one hour from Paris by air.
Collective Studio makes cut-and-sew knitwear for French brands in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, from 100 pieces per style and colour, delivered DDP in roughly 40–50 days plus transit, duty-free under Everything But Arms with France's 20% import VAT inside the quote. Labels are sewn in French, GOTS certificate RSC 9687 backs the GPSR file, and our Amsterdam office works in your hours.
Or message the factory directly: WhatsApp +880 1980 055026 · hello@collectivestudioltd.com · Homaira replies within one business day.
- Minimum order
- 100 pcs per style, per colour
- Delivery
- ~40–50 days production, plus transit
- Products
- Tees, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, activewear, loungewear, underwear, kidswear
- Duty
- 0% under EU Everything But Arms (single-transformation origin) — verified 21 Sep 2026
We are a clothing manufacturer for French brands: a family-run cut-and-sew knitwear floor in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, with a brand office in Amsterdam, making t-shirts, polos, hoodies, sweatshirts, joggers, shorts, activewear and loungewear from 100 pieces per style and colour. French founders usually arrive with two questions, what the goods cost landed in France and whether the labelling is right, so this page answers both with sources rather than reassurance.
On cost: Bangladesh-made apparel enters the EU duty-free under Everything But Arms, and France charges import VAT at its standard rate of 20% (taux normal de TVA) on the customs value plus any duty. We ship DDP, so that VAT is inside the price you approve rather than a separate bill from the douane, and a TVA-registered importer normally reclaims it on the return. Since 2022 France collects import VAT through the VAT return rather than at the border for registered businesses, which makes the cash-flow question easier than in most markets; confirm the mechanism with your expert-comptable.
On labelling: fibre composition must be in French on garments sold in France under Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011, and we sew the label to your artwork in French, or in French plus the other languages you sell in. The General Product Safety Regulation adds the manufacturer's name and addresses on the product or packaging and an EU-established responsible operator, which a French company importing from us is.
Where France still wins: if fabriqué en France is the story, or you need fifty pieces re-cut next week from a workshop you can drive to, a French atelier is the right answer and we will say so. Where we win is knit at volume: a hoodie, a tee or a jogger cut and sewn to your spec at a hundred pieces, GOTS organic cotton available under certificate RSC 9687, and a landed cost that includes the duty you do not pay and the VAT you do.
Ports and timing: Le Havre and Marseille-Fos are the usual sea entries and Paris-Charles de Gaulle the air entry. In our experience sea freight from Chattogram to northern European ports takes roughly four to five weeks and air freight five to eight days door to door; we confirm the transit for your port with the quote. Our lead time is about 50 days from a confirmed order to handover, and the launch-date calculator counts back from your on-sale date.
If you have been searching fabricant de vêtements and finding agents who will not name the factory, the test is simple: ask for the street address, the BKMEA membership and a live video call from the floor during a working shift. Ours is Plot-A-132, Road No. 02, BSCIC Industrial Area, Panchabati, Narayanganj 1420, and the call is not a problem.
| Bangladesh (our floor) | China | Vietnam | Turkey | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duty preference into France | Duty-free under Everything But Arms; single-transformation origin; kept three years after LDC graduation (verified 21 Sep 2026). Import VAT applies to every origin | No preference; the standard EU rate for the commodity code applies | EU–Vietnam trade agreement preferences apply only where its fabric-origin rules are met | EU–Turkey customs union: no duty on goods in free circulation | EU production: no import, no customs entry, no import-VAT event |
| Sea route to France | Via Suez to Le Havre or Marseille-Fos; on our experience about four to five weeks by sea to northern European ports, five to eight days by air | Via Suez; a similar sea leg | Via Suez; a similar sea leg | Road and short-sea; days rather than weeks | Road; days |
| Where it tends to be strongest | Cotton knit basics at low minimums, GOTS organic, landed cost | Breadth of fabrics, trims and technical construction | Large woven, outerwear and sportswear programmes | Speed to market, denim and knit, mid-range cost | Premium made-in-EU positioning, small runs, highest unit cost |
| Choose it when | You want cut-and-sew knitwear from 100 pieces, duty-free, with the GPSR file built during production | You need materials or constructions a knit specialist cannot source | You are placing large woven or performance programmes | You need weeks, not months, and can carry a higher unit cost | The made-in-Europe label is central to the brand and price is secondary |
France's real VAT — 20%, inside the price
The taux normal de TVA of 20% is charged on the customs value at import; we quote it inside one DDP landed cost, reclaimable if you are TVA-registered.
Low MOQ — from 100 pieces
Launch or test in the French market with 100 pieces per style, per colour, cut and sewn to your pattern.
Labels in French, GPSR-ready
Fibre labels in French as Regulation 1007/2011 requires; GOTS certificate RSC 9687 supplies the evidence your GPSR technical file needs.
Duties, VAT and origin for imports into France
Last verified: 21 September 2026, against the official sources listed under Sources below.
France applies the EU's common rules: a garment cut and sewn on our floor enters duty-free under Everything But Arms on a single-transformation origin rule, and Regulation (EU) 2026/1395 keeps that access for three years after Bangladesh graduates from LDC status. The French part is the tax: the standard VAT rate is 20% (service-public.gouv.fr), charged at import on the customs value plus any duty; the reduced rates apply to listed goods such as food and medicines, not clothing.
On 500 tees at a US$6.00 customs value, US$3,000 in total, that is US$600 of import VAT and no duty, inside our DDP price. A TVA-registered importer accounts for it on the VAT return. Overseas departments carry different rates and are outside this page.
Confirm the live position for your commodity code with your broker before pricing a range; we will state it for your order in writing, and the landed-cost calculator runs the arithmetic for any quantity.
Compliance and labelling for the French market
Last verified: 21 September 2026, against the official sources listed under Sources below.
Fibre composition follows Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011: every fibre by generic name and percentage in descending order on a durable, legible label, in the official language of the member state where the garment is sold, so French for France. We sew labels to your artwork. Country of origin is not required by that regulation, though the customs declaration states it and any origin claim you print must be true.
Since 13 December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 requires an EU-established responsible economic operator, the manufacturer's name and postal and electronic address on the product or packaging, a risk analysis and technical documentation kept for ten years; GOTS certificate RSC 9687 supplies the fibre, chemistry and traceability evidence behind that file, and our Amsterdam office can hold it where that helps. REACH Annex XVII entry 43 bans azo dyes that release listed aromatic amines above 30 mg/kg in textiles worn against the skin, and EN 14682 governs cords and drawstrings on children's clothing.
Looking ahead, the Commission plans the ESPR textile delegated act carrying the Digital Product Passport for apparel for adoption in late 2027 with at least 18 months' transition, so the passport is not a 2026 obligation.
Shipping, Incoterms, time zones and the Amsterdam office
We quote DDP, delivered duty paid, to any French address: freight, the customs entry, the import VAT and delivery inside one landed price, with the commercial invoice, packing list and statement on origin sent to you before the goods move. In our experience sea freight to northern European ports takes roughly four to five weeks from Chattogram and air freight five to eight days door to door; we confirm the transit for Le Havre, Marseille-Fos or Paris-CDG with the quote.
Bangladesh Standard Time is UTC+6 with no daylight saving, four to five hours ahead of France. Our floor works Sunday to Thursday, 09:00 to 18:00, so your morning overlaps our afternoon, and our Amsterdam office, in your time zone, covers the rest of the day for design conversations, samples and compliance paperwork, in English or French.
LDC graduation: the verified position
Last verified: 21 September 2026, against the official sources listed under Sources below.
Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from UN Least Developed Country status on 24 November 2026. In February 2026 it asked for an extension; the UN Committee for Development Policy said one would be appropriate provided reforms continue, and in July 2026 the Economic and Social Council referred the request to the General Assembly (UN LDC portal). No General Assembly decision had been published when we checked on 21 September 2026, and the 2029 date in press reports is the requested date, not a decided one.
For a French order the consequence is bounded: Regulation (EU) 2026/1395 keeps Everything But Arms for three years after whichever graduation date lands, so duty-free access runs to at least the end of 2029 on the current timetable. Import VAT is unaffected by any of it. What follows that window depends on whether Bangladesh qualifies for GSP+, which is genuinely unresolved; our LDC graduation guide sets out the scenarios.
Clothing manufacturing for French brands, made by people on our own floor
Wonderful people to work with — very professional and knowledgeable, also accommodating to the needs of their customers.
Talk to the factory directly: +880 1980 055021 · hello@collectivestudioltd.com
Clothing manufacturing for French brands — specs at a glance
- Products
- Tees, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, activewear, loungewear, underwear, kidswear
- Minimum order
- 100 pcs per style, per colour
- Duty
- 0% under EU Everything But Arms (single-transformation origin) — verified 21 Sep 2026
- French import VAT
- 20% standard rate on the customs value plus any duty — verified 21 Sep 2026
- Worked example
- 500 tees, $6 customs value: $0 duty + $600 VAT (20%)
- Labels
- Fibre composition in French (Reg. 1007/2011); GPSR manufacturer details on product or packaging
- Shipping
- DDP to any French address — Le Havre / Marseille-Fos by sea, Paris-CDG by air
- Delivery
- ~40–50 days production, plus transit
Questions about clothing manufacturing for French brands, answered
Do I pay import duty on clothing from Bangladesh to France?
No, at present. Bangladesh-made apparel enters every EU member state duty-free under Everything But Arms, on a single-transformation origin rule that our cut-and-sew floor satisfies. Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from LDC status on 24 November 2026 (an extension is requested and a UN decision pending), and Regulation (EU) 2026/1395 keeps EBA for three years after graduation, so to at least the end of 2029 on the current date. Verified 21 September 2026; we confirm the live position for every order.
How much is French import VAT on clothing?
France's standard VAT rate is 20%, charged at import on the customs value plus any duty; with zero duty that is 20% of the customs value, so US$600 on a US$3,000 order. We ship DDP so it is inside the price you approve, and a TVA-registered business accounts for it on its return. The reduced rates of 10%, 5.5% and 2.1% apply to listed goods such as food and medicines, not to clothing. Overseas departments carry different rates.
Do labels have to be in French?
Fibre composition labels must be in the official language of the member state where the garment is sold under Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011, so French for France. We sew the label to your artwork in French, or in French plus the languages of the other markets you sell in. The General Product Safety Regulation also requires the manufacturer's name and postal and electronic address on the product or packaging. Our labelling guide covers every market we ship to.
Should I make in France instead?
For some brands, yes, and we would rather say so. If fabriqué en France is central to what you sell, if you need fifty pieces re-cut next week, or if you want to stand in the workshop while it is sewn, a French atelier serves you better. Where we are the better answer is knit at volume: tees, hoodies, joggers and activewear cut and sewn to your spec from a hundred pieces, with GOTS organic cotton and a landed cost that includes the VAT and the duty you do not pay.
What's your minimum order?
One hundred pieces per style, per colour. For a French first range most brands land on three to five hundred pieces across two or three styles, enough to justify the GPSR compliance work once and reuse it on reorders. Splitting a hundred pieces across several colours triggers separate dye lots and prices accordingly, so one colour deep beats three shallow. Our free MOQ calculator models the split.
How long does delivery to France take?
About ten days for sampling, forty to fifty days for production once the pre-production sample is signed off, then transit: in our experience roughly four to five weeks by sea to northern European ports and five to eight days by air; we confirm the figure for Le Havre, Marseille-Fos or Paris-CDG with the quote. We ship DDP, so the entry, the VAT and delivery are handled on our side. The launch-date calculator counts back from your on-sale date.
Sources & further reading
Trade and regulatory details on this page last verified 21 September 2026. Tariff and compliance terms change — ask us to confirm the current position for your order.
- service-public.gouv.fr — Taux de TVA (standard rate 20%; page verified 18 June 2025)
- European Commission Access2Markets — Everything But Arms
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2026/1395, the renewed GSP scheme
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and labelling
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2023/988, General Product Safety Regulation
- ECHA — REACH Annex XVII entry 43, azocolourants and azodyes
- UN — Bangladesh graduation status (LDC portal)
Ready to make it?
Whether it’s a large bulk or wholesale run or your first batch of 100, send a sketch, a reference, or a sentence. We’ll reply within one business day with fabric options and an indicative price.
Or message the factory directly: WhatsApp +880 1980 055026 · hello@collectivestudioltd.com · Homaira replies within one business day.