Walmart Pilots Effort To Reduce Waste In Garment Manufacturing

Walmart and unspun, a fashion tech company using the world’s first 3D weaving technology, have teamed to launch a pilot program that, if successful, could help reduce the environmental impact of garment production and shift more textile manufacturing back to the U.S. 

Working out of its micro factory in Oakland, Calif., unspun’s first-of-its-kind technology is said to more quickly and efficiently transform yarn into garments.

According to the companies, the pilot project addresses concerns about waste in the apparel industry driven primarily by fabric loss from traditional flat weaving, cutting and garment assembly, and from discarded extra inventory built to meet growing consumer demand and fashion trends. These issues, combined with the emissions generated from transporting garments and fabrics supplied offshore, have created demand for more sustainable apparel manufacturing supply chain solutions.

“At Walmart, we are laser-focused on bringing innovation to our supply chain to better serve our customers and solve industry challenges, and unspun has the potential to do just that,” said Andrea Albright, executive vice president, Sourcing, Walmart. “The technology we are piloting with unspun has the potential to unlock more skilled job creation in the U.S., meet consumer demand for locally made garments and deliver on our commitment for greater transparency and sustainability in our apparel supply chain.”

In the pilot project, the two companies will explore how unspun’s 3D weaving machines can be used to make workwear style pants under a Walmart house brand. With 3D weaving, yarn is spun directly into completed garments. Traditionally, yarn is woven into one-dimensional fabrics, which are then cut and assembled into garments – creating waste and taking significant time and multiple manufacturing steps. 

The 3D weaving process is different from commonly known 3D printing, which creates a physical object from a digital design by laying down thin layers of liquid or powdered plastic, metal or cement.

Should the pilot program prove successful, Walmart and unspun are focused on deepening the collaboration and deploy additional microsites around the U.S. for on- and near-shored manufacturing, with locations to be determined. The goal for unspun is to have 350 machines in the U.S. by 2030. 

“The pressing need to address ongoing climate change, reduce carbonization and drive to more transparent and localized apparel manufacturing practices is at the heart of our mission,” said Beth Esponnette, co-founder of unspun. “We have been running low-volume production of commercial products at our first micro factory with proven third-party life cycle assessments to back the impact of this new type of production. Now, together with Walmart, we see an enormous opportunity to take our innovations to scale, with the potential to disrupt the garment manufacturing industry, bring jobs to the USA and drastically reduce waste in apparel.”