About us
CBTEX likes to share its knowledge and network. We want to help buyers and suppliers to find eachother easily. Together with CBTEX you will succeed!
The CBTEX team
Simon Kos
The Hague, The Netherlands
Since 1998 Simon has been active in textile buying, garment development and factory sourcing. After graduating from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute in 1998 Simon worked for Macy’s in Providence and Boston, USA.
After his return to Europe he has held several positions as product developer, textile buyer and sourcing manager. In 2010 he started his own textile company and provided buying services to many brands.
With over 20 years of buying experience Simon decided it was time to do something useful for the strong network of suppliers which he got to know over this period of time. That’s how the platform CBTEX started.
It is now his goal to promote Chinese quality garment suppliers and to connect them with new buyers. Suppliers and buyers can build meaningful relationships in business and on a personal level.
Hans van Breukelen
The Hague, The Netherlands
Hans has been working in the jeans & sportswear business since 1980 in various management roles. In both retail & wholesale within many brands such as Levi’s, O’Neill, Protest and Rucanor. Provided with an executive MBA at Nyenrode University he served almost 15 years as chairman of the FGHS (Dutch Branche Committee for all sports brand related companies in The Netherlands) on a voluntary basis next to his professional career.
In a time of waste-consciousness & sustainability it is important to create and maintain a strong dedicated and responsible network. It is with great enthusiasm that I support the positive network of CBTEX. We have to make a difference in our fast developing industry of apparel.
Mahsa Bayandoriha
The Hague, The Netherlands
Mahsa is an Iranian entrepreneur. She brings over 15 years of experience gained across three countries; Iran, Germany and The Netherlands. She worked in various sectors, including import, export, business development and business consulting. She has developed a deep understanding of business processes. From demand and production to shipment and delivery, as well as how to scale and expand. Her international experience has taught her how to work with diverse cultures while fostering mutual respect.
With a Bachelor’s in Economics and an MBA in Strategy from Vrije University Amsterdam, Mahsa confidently pursued her passion and launched her own high quality activewear brand after working as a yoga instructor for several years and identifying market gaps. Her extensive background allows her to understand the business side of buyers and what they aim to accomplish, making her a valuable addition to CBTEX team.
Diana Omanga
Nairobi, Kenya
Diana is a seasoned Marketing Specialist with over a decade of experience in the manufacturing industry in Kenya. With a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce specializing in Marketing and an MBA in Corporate Management from KCA University, Diana has fine-tuned her expertise in driving business development and optimizing marketing operations.
Passionate about making a meaningful impact, she founded www.ubinti.com, a social enterprise aimed at empowering women and vulnerable girls in rural areas through innovative e-commerce and digital solutions. Her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to social responsibility underscore her dedication to driving positive change both in business and society. It’s all perfectly in line with the CBTEX values.
Angela Tan (Chunlan)
San Francisco, USA
Angela is originally from Harbin city in China. There she had several years of experience in the fashion clothing industry. She has worked for big department stores in purchase and sales. Due to her experience in buying, selling and connecting with customers, she was later encouraged to open her own shop. This personal business Angela has kept until she moved to Europe.
After a period of living abroad in The Netherlands, she eventually moved to San Francisco in 2021. Joining the CBTEX team allows her to help USA clients to find quality garment suppliers in China. It is Angela’s personal desire to represent China in the USA and to proof that “Made in China” can be a very good thing. She wants to take away the western scepsis about Chinese products, as she knows that there are many great quality suppliers.
Coco Lei (Wenjuan)
Aalborg, Denmark
After many years of working experience in the textile and accessories business in China, Coco has moved to Denmark in 2019. Nowadays she supports Danish companies in their textile buying needs. By knowing both cultures and speaking both native languages (plus English), she can add great value to international buying teams. Coco purchases many products from her mother country China, which gives her the opportunity to travel between both nations regularly. This way she can stay in touch with her contacts constantly.
Being part of the CBTEX team is an added value to Coco’s professional carreer. It gives her an even wider scope of potential buying companies in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Besides, it provides her with a professional international group of peers. The team consults and assists eachother in the right direction, when it’s needed. The network of CBTEX is truely global, which is of great help to Coco!
Rebecca Pan (Minghui)
Xiamen, China
In 2012 Rebecca started her own garment manufacturing company Roamica. She is very experienced in the production process of outdoor garments of high quality. Her mentality can be described as business driven and hard working. She will always do the best she can to help the client reach their goals.
Rebecca works for several European and American brands, and travels to fairs and clients to discuss the products and orders they place with her personally. This ensures a dedicated follow up and good results.
CBTEX is happy to have Rebecca in our team, to support buyers and to find solutions where others will not succeed. Based in Xiamen you can always count on her to help you out.
Gina Huang (Zhongying)
Fuzhou, China
Gina is our workwear specialist from Fuzhou. Her factory Tongar produces heavy duty workwear for industrial environments such as off-shore, roadwork, factory work, security work, etc. Signal orange, fluo yellow and reflective stripes will welcome you to the showroom. By going into detail you will also see that the workmanship is of the highest level, to secure trustworthy products.
Gina is familiair with all the workwear market standards and with government requirements. Due to the high demands of her clients, she knows all about fabric testing and material testing. Beside producing garments, Gina is also an expert in the development of trimmings such as labels, tapes, badges, hangtags, etc. Mostly these items are needed by fashion brands and sports brands, but they are also essential on certain workwear products.
Joanne Huang (Li Qiu)
Quanzhou, China
In 2005 Joanne started working for a garment factory in Quanzhou, where she lives. After three years of gaining experience about the work in a garment factory she decided to use this knowledge as a QC expert. Since 2008 Joanne has been Quality Controller in the Quanzhou region. She visits the garment factories to do inline inspections, take measurement reports and check if order volumes are correctly packed and boxed before they leave the factory warehouse.
Joanne reports to the agencies or clients to let them know how the final products are made, and if there is any concerns to be addressed before the goods can depart. For CBTEX she has been an added value since 2013, by checking bulk productions and contacting us in case of any issue or defect. This prevents us from importing goods that can not be sold or need to be discounted. A good QC is essential for anybody in this business!
Our team has decades of experience of working with garment production facilities in Europe and Asia. We have seen all the shifts and changes throughout the years. Meanwhile we have built on strong relationships with suppliers of textiles and garments worldwide, and we have learned to understand the challenges of suppliers as well as buyers.
We believe in fair and open communication with suppliers, to achieve the best result for both sides. By working together well, both sides can win a lot. We want you to avoid wasting time and money by making the right steps from the start. This all begins by selecting the right supplier. One that matches your needs.
We are aware of the political situations that may influence your choices, but we aim for a fair view on the actual situation, based on true facts. We want you to work with good people that you like, not just with a company name or a country. We want you to meet the people that make your products. We know that the relationship you build up with your supplier is crucial to your results and success on the short term and on the long term.
We are convinced that a good supplier/buyer relationship is more sustainable than any certificate in the market. Suppliers and buyers can work together for the best results. Besides quality, speed and price, you can also improve your processes together. This will lead to better conditions within the factories, less material waste, less pollution and more profit.
How does CBTEX select suppliers?
Throughout the years we have seen hundreds of factories for ourselves. The best ones we experienced have become the first CBTEX members. Through our broad network we get involved with new potential CBTEX suppliers to add to the platform. Based on an audit, we decide if such new found suppliers are suitable to join CBTEX.
Suppliers are often informed by their peers about the CBTEX platform and the opportunity to get in touch with new potential clients, so they apply to join the platform with us. We visit important international textile and garment trade fairs to promote the CBTEX platform. Every year we visit as many suppliers as possible, to have a real impression of their facilities and to get to know the people behind the scene/screen.
We help suppliers to build their profile on our platform in a professional way, to avoid miscommunication due to language and cultural barriers. We talk with CBTEX members online and offline frequently, to guarantee their status and availability for new buyers. We try to protect suppliers for ‘sample shoppers’ by monitoring potential buyers that contact them. Only sincere buyers should be active on our platform.
Our team has built up a huge international network of textile professionals. Not only suppliers, but also buyers, developers, technicians, auditors, journalists, politicians, activists, investors, bankers, experts in several fields, etc.