Unspun has signed on with Renoon, the Amsterdam-based software company created to process and package all supply chain information for clothing companies around the globe. The brand has implemented Renoon’s e-comm impact labeling on its website, giving consumers access to information about its sustainable components and where they’re sourced from.
“We wanted to have a platform that could map out all the info in our database,” said Annika Visser, brand lead at Unspun. “And give it out in a format the consumer could understand.”
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Based in California, Unspun was founded on the premise of decarbonizing fashion supply chains by making made-to-measure jeans based off smartphone body scan. There is no carbon generating inventory, or cutting and sewing or warehousing, thus cutting down the typical fashion supply chain and product lifecycle to six steps from 11.
Visser noted that the fashion tech company receives few, if any, returns, cutting down even further on carbon emissions.
In June, following $14 million in financing, Unspun unveiled Vega, the 3D weaving technology at the heart of the Oakland company’s mission to stop fashion pollution. The technology is able to weave a pair of pants in under 10 minutes directly from yarn, allowing finishing steps to be completed within minutes.
Unspun plans to develop a way to unravel the custom jeans so the thread can be used again in another garment.
Visser said traceability technology adds very little to the cost of the jeans and consumers aren’t ready for that particular upcharge anyway. “Most consumers aren’t willing to pay a higher price for sustainable goods. However, we aspire to change this, by educating consumers about the origins of their products and promoting transparency,” she said. “Perhaps if consumers understood why certain items carry a higher price they would.”
However, Visser sees Unspun as a poster child for what waits as the environmental regulatory landscapes shift, taking consumer attitudes with it. She drew a parallel between apparel and the evolution in the food business, saying that “the farm-to-table thing that happened in food will maybe happen with clothing as well.”
According to Renoon founder Iris Skrami, changes in EU rules governing environmental, social and governmental (ESG) issues are helping push the whole traceability question to the fore. She pointed to interest in sustainability from European brands, but too few have amassed the requisite information so far. “Supply chain mapping is the first key step but that’s what’s really hard to do,” she said. “I think a lot of them are panicking but they have to get their house in order.”
In addition to Unspun, Skrami said she has about 20 brands on board with many requests for similar programs from industries like food, beverage, furniture and travel. She added that Renoon will stay within the fashion space where there is a distinct need and the pressure of government regulation looming.
