Robots make clothes for sustainable fashion

How could this automated system help to reduce textile waste?

Spotted: The vast majority of clothes are made entirely by hand using laborious processes that have remained much the same for decades. To keep the price of these handmade garments down, many companies set up production sites in places where they can exploit cheap labour, including countries like India, Vietnam, and China. One Austrian startup wants to change that, with its robotic manufacturing system.

Silana, which was founded in 2022, has developed a robotic system called SiBot that automates the sewing process from start to finish, with each manufacturing step performed by a specific subsystem of the technology. With Silana’s solution, it’s economically viable for companies to locate production sites within the country of sale without increasing the final price of garments, instead of being inclined to manufacture in nations where the labour is cheapest and working conditions are poor. And, using robotics reduces the human errors that can be common in traditional clothes manufacturing, resulting in fewer wasted garments and maximised profits for manufacturers.

Keeping manufacturing close to the point of sale also helps to tackle another big issue in the fashion industry: overproduction. Helped by the faster and automated production, Silana’s technology can drastically reduce lead times, meaning that brands can much better predict trends and produce the right quantity of garments to meet actual demand. Because of this, the SiBot could help companies cut their CO2 emissions by almost 40 per cent, according to Silana.

Almost 200 of Silana’s machines have been pre-ordered and although the SiBot will start out with T-shirt production, the company plans to expand into polo shirts and other products in coming years. In May this year, Silana raised €1.5 million in a round led by SOSV and hopefully the funding will enable the company to deliver its first machines in 2025.

Written By: Matilda Cox