Fashion on Demand
Textile Inventions You Need To Be Acquainted With In 2022
Textile Inventions You Need To Be Acquainted With In 2022
(If You Are Not Already)
AN INDUSTRY INSIGHT BY FASHNERD FOUNDER MUCHANETA KAPFUNDE.
The race to digitise the textile sector is expected to continue to gain momentum throughout 2022. However, with sustainability still a key theme, the good news is that game-changing innovations are helping a very traditional industry recognise business opportunities that push towards a fundamental shift in industry practices and any future developments.
Reimagining the Textiles System With a New Mindset
No longer held back by conventional processes, more and more textile manufacturers, suppliers, buyers, and designers are now transitioning towards a textile system that allows them to harness better economic, societal, and environmental outcomes. In addition, prioritising the application of new technologies has helped the textile industry take those first steps of progress towards adopting new business models, technological innovation, and radical collaboration.
“Our success depends not only on the work within our own value chain but on disruptive partnerships across a broader textile production and manufacturing ecosystem,” stated Cyrus Wadia, VP Sustainable Business and Innovation at Nike, in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation report “A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future”.
As technology continues to have a significant impact on the textile industry, in 2022, make sure you keep an eye on the following innovations from these three game-changing companies:
1. Kelp – One Of The Most Renewable Natural Resources: Algiknit
In the business to make textile production more environmentally conscious, Algiknit offers material options that perform as well as conventional materials.
“The yarn we’re producing today has the look and feel of the natural fibres consumers are familiar with, plus all the makings of a no-compromise conscious material,” said Aaron Nesser, co-founder and CTO of AlgiKnit, in a statement.
Staying ahead of the curve in fabric innovations, Algiknit could effectively bring kelp-based yarn into the mainstream. The startup is currently poised to scale the production of eco-conscious yarns for use by forward-thinking global fashion brands.
With Kelp considered one of the most renewable natural resources globally, the Brooklyn-based material-maker of carbon-neutral, toxic-free textiles has spent the past four years developing technology to produce yarns on a commercial scale. They hope that they will be able to scale production to a point where they will be able to meet growing material demand in time.
2. Freshwater-free Textile Fibres, The Next Alternative: SaltyCo
UK startup, SaltyCO, has come up with freshwater-free textile fibres. Hoping to establish an alternative to freshwater-intensive cotton cultivation, SaltyCO is on a mission to tackle the side effect of wasteful freshwater use by rethinking the system and installing a new category in sustainable textile production.
Acknowledging that there is no single solution to “sustainability”, SaltyCO’s vision is to build a planet-healing supply chain that begins with an approach to regenerative agriculture. Hoping to create the most impact by sourcing their plant material, the materials science company has so far found a suitable salt-tolerant plant for the textile supply chain. They are now researching regenerative cultivation techniques and textile products. The outcome has been BioPuff, a plant-based fibre fill produced in SaltyCO’s laboratory in Scotland.
An alternative to animal and petroleum-based products, BioPuff is made of pure cellulose and has been reported to reduce petroleum by 70% in every jacket impact and save up to 25 litres of fresh drinking water.
3. Built with Biology, Not Oil: Biofabricate
Do you know that we are at the dawn of a new age where we can biodesign and biofabricate? No longer confined to small-scale experiments, biomaterials have garnered interest from well-known brands, like Adidas and Hermès, looking for plant-based alternatives to petroleum.
Recognising the potential of ‘Living Factories’ like Mycelium, Bacteria, Yeast and Algae, is Biofabricate. They are a startup that believes that a sustainable material world is built with biology, not oil. Recognising that there are no shortcuts, Suzanne Lee, founder and CEO of Biofabricate, believes that patience and tenacity by the industry should be a requirement.
“This can be a struggle for many designers – who like fast outcomes. But unfortunately, biology doesn’t work like that”, explained Lee when interviewed by Nextnature.net.
As a new generation of biofabrication and cell agriculture startups continue to set the standard, Biofabricate has become the go-to for those looking to bridge design with biotech intelligently.
In the current landscape, textile inventions are setting the standard by driving the textile industry to understand the facts and participate in the solutions. But, in the end, material innovation is a constant journey, one you should already be on if you aren’t already.
Are you interested in more indepth facts and figures of the new textile economy?
Check out FashNerd.com to follow the journey of the industry or read one of the following blog articles:
Antimicrobial Textiles, Hero or Hype?
The New Textiles Economy, A Catalyst For Transformation?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta has worked in the fashion industry for over 14 years. She is currently one of the leading influencers speaking and writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology.
Muchaneta Kapfunde | editor@fashnerd.com
The New Textiles Economy
The New Textiles Economy, A Catalyst for Transformation?
AN INDUSTRY INSIGHT BY FASHNERD FOUNDER MUCHANETA KAPFUNDE.
Although textile businesses play a fundamental part in the global economy, future-proofing this somewhat rigid industry with new technologies is no small feat. The good news is that cutting-edge innovations now have more authority than ever before. No longer labelled as gimmicky, these actionable tech solutions represent a real-life potential to change the textile world’s processes, materials, and techniques for the better. Which brings us to the question, how can one become an active shaper in the new textiles economy?
A New Mindset Speeds up Implementation
With the pandemic still dictating how we do business, new technologies have become unlikely superheroes. Bringing about a new mindset to the fashion and textile industry, new innovations have been encouraging companies to seize the opportunity to shift their trajectory towards a new textiles economy. But what is the new textiles economy?
Driving positive change during these challenging times, the new textile economy promises long-term benefits built on the reuse, remake, and recycle models. Based on circular economy principles, Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s paper called ‘A new textiles economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future’, defines the new textile economy as “regenerative and restorative”. Designed to “phase out the use of non-renewable resources”, the new textiles economy can minimise the adverse impact by significantly reducing resource usage during the production, while in use, and after-use phases.
An excellent example of a company speeding up implementation with a new mindset is Nike. Committed to phasing out non-renewable resources, Nike adopted the ‘Rewire’ approach, which is a supply-chain strategy based on “integration, incentives, and innovation”. It was a change that helped Nike propel sustainability to the forefront of their business strategy.
A Shared Vision Sets New Industry Standards
As the new textiles economy ushers in a different system level, a shared vision is emerging. Encouraging rapid acceleration within the textiles industry, the shared vision represents an opportunity for textile businesses to commit to disruptive partnerships that enable a more effective system-wide progress. Collaborations have not only been playing a vital role in stimulating strategies, but they have also made it possible for textile businesses to test new models at scale.
Setting new industry standards are companies like Reverse Resources. Described as the Uber of textile waste, Reverse Resources is a tracking and trading platform for textile waste that brings manufacturers and buyers together. Providing 360-degree transparency of the waste flows, Reverse Resources is one of many innovative companies taking critical action in supporting the new textiles economy by being an active shaper bringing about a systemic fix that supports structural change.
A Catalyst for Transformation?
Is the new textiles economy a catalyst for transformation? The answer is yes. The transformation of the textile industry is steering businesses towards a new textiles economy that is economically and environmentally better for everyone. Built on a shared vision and fueled by new technologies, the new textiles economy is excitingly ushering in a long-overdue evolutionary change of the linear system, which has been ripe for disruption for a very long time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta has worked in the fashion industry for over 14 years. She is currently one of the leading influencers speaking and writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology.
Muchaneta Kapfunde | editor@fashnerd.com
5 Tech Trends Reshaping Apparel Manufacturing
5 TECH TRENDS RESHAPING THE FUTURE OF APPAREL MANUFACTURING
AN INDUSTRY INSIGHT BY FASHNERD FOUNDER MUCHANETA KAPFUNDE.
Transforming textile manufacturing and reshaping how the industry does business, new technologies are not only being adopted; they are trending. With various innovations on offer, here are the top five tech trends that have proven popular in helping apparel manufacturers create greater efficiency and build better relationships between producers, suppliers and customers.
1. Digitisation
It seems that digitisation in manufacturing really could be the perfect match. Defined by Gartner as “the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities”, digitisation is shifting manufacturing towards becoming a digital business.
Changing how products are designed, created, utilised and sustained, the digitisation of manufacturing has proven, to transform the operations, processes, and energy footprint of factories and supply chains while increasing opportunities in efficiency, productivity and accuracy in the textile industry.
2. Fashion on Demand
Yes technology can finally support the need for fashion on demand. Technology is revolutionising what fashion on demand means. Once regarded as uneconomical, on demand fashion was once seen as impossible to achieve on a larger scale. The good news is that this is no longer the case since technology is now at a level that can support the rise of made-to-order and made-to-measure.
Therefore, fashion and textile businesses that want to create an on-demand supply chain can turn to new software, like the one provided by companies like Unmade, a London based startup that has worked with the likes of Christopher Raeburn and Avery Dennison. Offering convenience, fashion on-demand has also proven beneficial for fashion brands like New York-based Prabal Gurung, who have made the shift and now 25% of all their orders are now made-to-order.
Another great example is the knitwear company, Ministry of Supply. They have reportedly tested 3D printing knitted blazers and dresses and allowed their customers to choose different styles and colours. Within two days, the items were ‘printed’ and sent to customers. So again, innovation could mean that a fashion on-demand product could be delivered in the same amount of time as most fast-fashion labels, now that is progress.
3. Robotics
Want to implement robotics into your textile manufacturing process? Then read on. Groundbreaking advancements in recent years have allowed robotics in the textile industry to progress to the point where development has become highly advantageous for textile manufacturers. Ripe for transformation, robotics are becoming less of an obstacle and more of a technology that can positively transform the textile industry for the better.
As the automation wave continues to take over textile manufacturing, companies like Sewbo provide innovative solutions that support the automation of apparel manufacturing. Sewbo’s solution has been created to allow manufacturers to create higher-quality clothing at lower costs while shortening supply chains and lessening the long lead times that hamper the fashion and apparel industries. By helping to reduce the complexity of today’s intricate global supply network, the great thing about Sewbo’s technology is that it is suitable for a wide range of manufacturing applications.
4. Machine Learning
A McKinsey report once stated that machine learning would reduce supply chain forecasting errors by 50% while also reducing lost sales by 65%. These numbers confirm that machine learning impacts textile manufacturing, especially in these three areas of business — operations, production, and post-production. Other great benefits of machine learning in manufacturing include improving product development, quality control, security and supply chain management.
Although some still argue that the technology is still in its infancy, those who have chosen to utilise machine learning fully have reduced their manufacturing costs and drastically improved product quality. Therefore, it is clear that using AI-powered systems in one’s manufacturing processes demonstrates that machine learning could bring numerous opportunities to enhance nearly every aspect of your business.
5. 3D Printing
Could 3D Printing be suitable for mass customisation? Well, some experts believe that 3D printing has the potential to help fashion and textile businesses who are looking to switch to an alternative customisable production method. Perhaps the biggest advantage of this type of tech tool is that it allows customisation choices to be implemented within the 3D file straight away before production.
If you are wondering whether there are any illustrative examples of fashion brands riding the mass customisation wave with 3D printing, the excellent news is that there is. Showing the way was the collaboration between Stratasys x Ganit Goldstein. Their partnership explored the melding of the traditional method with the latest 3D printing technology. “This is still a relatively new domain; we need to challenge ourselves to envision the next steps and to embrace this new design freedom to open up its true frontiers,” explained Naomi Kaempfer, Creative Director of Art, Design and Fashion at Stratasys.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta has worked in the fashion industry for over 14 years. She is currently one of the leading influencers speaking and writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology.
Muchaneta Kapfunde | editor@fashnerd.com