New Study Reveals Benefits of 3D Printing Production for Footwear, Luxury Goods

The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), an organization focused on understanding and promoting the environmental benefits of additive manufacturing across the global economy, this week released a report on the environmental benefits of apparel and footwear manufacturing processes.

Hollywood, Fla-based AMGTA partnered with additive manufacturing company Stratasys Ltd., and the Dyloan Bond Factory for a study conducted by UK-based additive manufacturing consultancy Reeves Insight, of 3D material jetting vs. traditional methods for producing designer and luxury goods.

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The study modeled the transition from traditional manufacturing methods—using 2D inkjet printing and thermal welding of injection-molded parts with sheet polyurethane materials—to advanced additive manufacturing to create 16,000 units of a three-dimensional logo attached to the heel of 8,000 pairs of luxury athletic shoes. The logos were printed on fabric and produced by the Stratasys J850 Fashion TechStyle printer, which uses a waterless process of material jetting with photocurable liquid resins. The new process required fewer steps, as well.

The 14-month study, titled “Comparative Analysis: 3D Material Jetting vs Traditional Methods for Designer Luxury Goods,” found that additive manufacturing print-to-textile production cut CO₂ emissions by 24.8 percent compared to traditional processes and saved almost a full metric ton of carbon emissions.

The new process also saved 49.9 percent of stock material across the supply chain, as well as more than 300,000 liters of water and cut electricity consumption by more than 64 percent. The shift to additive manufacturing also reduced supply chain technology dependencies from four to one single workflow.

The AMGTA commissioned the study to better understand the environmental benefits of additive design and manufacturing in the fashion industry.

“We are committed to advancing the research and publication required to better understand the sustainable value of AM technologies as part of the manufacturing cycle for broad business cases,” said Sherri Monroe executive director, AMGTA. “The Stratasys-Dyloan Bond Factory Fashion LifeCycle Analysis (LCA), assessing print-to-textile, is our first polymer undertaking. It delivers important data that supports the value of AM to impact one of the most polluting industries in the world.”