In times of increasing environmental challenges, companies are looking for innovative solutions for more sustainable production. Retail giant Walmart and fashion tech start-up unspun have now announced a promising partnership. A pilot project will investigate whether unspun’s 3D fabric technology can reduce textile waste in clothing production and at the same time shift production to the USA.
The traditional production of clothing is associated with enormous waste rates. Often up to 30 percent of the material used is lost during processing. Overproduction, which is intended to prevent seasonal trends and supply bottlenecks, also leads to huge quantities of unsold goods. Added to this are the CO2 emissions of worldwide transportation.
unsupn’s 3D weaving solution processes yarns directly into finished garments. “With 3D weaving, the yarn is woven directly into finished articles. This is an innovative and novel approach to garment production,” explains Beth Esponnette, co-founder of unspun. “Traditionally, yarn is first woven into two-dimensional fabrics, which are then cut and sewn together – with corresponding waste and many work steps.”
In the joint pilot project, Walmart and unspun now want to test the production of work pants for a Walmart store brand using 3D weaving technology. The partners hope to achieve significant increases in efficiency and cost savings. “unspun’s technology has the potential to revolutionize our sourcing and serve our customers and the industry holistically,” affirms Andrea Albright, Vice President of Sourcing at Walmart.
If the test is successful, the companies plan to expand the cooperation. unspun aims to set up numerous micro-factories in the USA together with production partners and put a total of 350 3D weaving machines into operation by 2030.
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