Automation can tackle rising labour costs in garment manufacturing
San Francisco-based Unspun is a venture-backed robotics and apparel company, building custom jeans for each consumer on demand. The company's mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by at least 1 per cent through automated, localised and intentional manufacturing. It has an office in Hong Kong as well. Walden Lam, chief hustler and co-founder of Unspun, talks to Paulami Chatterjee about how the company is using robotics to deliver custom-fit jeans on demand.
How do you take care of sustainability issues while making your 'perfectly sized' jeans?
We first and foremost address the issue of excess inventory. By creating on demand, we eliminate the need to stock standard-sized inventory that might not see the light of the day. In the actual production of the jeans, we work closely with some of the world's most sustainable denim mills to source comfortable fabrics that have components of Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton, recycled and upcycled materials, with technologies that reduce the use of water and chemicals during the process. We also repurpose the cut waste to get as close to our zero waste vision as possible.
How did you come up with the idea for denim Unspun?
Beth (my co-founder) and I had brief experiences in the industry. Motivated by the waste and inefficiencies, she was working on an idea to create a technology that can create apparel on demand and we decided to work on this together while we searched for a technical co-founder and eventually found Kevin. The three of us spent a lot of time speaking to consumers and realised there is an acute pain point in not being able to find fitting denim jeans. We thought that solving this pain point was a good starting point for bringing on-demand technologies to the market. That was the beginning of our journey in denim Unspun.
You are a recent start-up. How much did you invest in technology to deliver custom-fit jeans? What was the investment in robotics? By when do you hope to break even?
Quite a bit, but never enough; we have poured our soul, sweat and tears into what we create, but we can always improve. As a start-up, our unifying goal is to reduce human carbon footprint by 1 per cent through our technologies. Philosophically, we will never achieve break-even until we are at least fractions away from that goal.
How much time is required to make a jeans pair?
It generally takes us about two to four weeks to deliver custom denim from the moment the customer places the order.
How many pair of customised jeans you have made till date?
Thousands.
How has been the response so far for your customised jeans product?
Let me share a few actual feedback quotes from the past month:
- "Hi unspun, I just received my Mission jean and I m really happy. What a fit. Thanks so much."
- "I've worn these jeans 3 times so far and I wear other pants on the other days. The other pants have quickly become second class citizens. These jeans just feel so good! They fit right, feel right and I feel good in them. But seriously - these jeans boost my confidence."
- "I don't wanna take them off!!!! It fits me like my skin!!!! I love the jeans."
What is your current team size?
We currently have thirteen full-time employees.
What did the introduction of robotics mean in terms of retrenching of workers?
Introducing robotics means automation and higher efficiencies that respect the planet. Robotics introduces new opportunities for workers. These jobs would facilitate training and upskilling in the form of education. Conversely, another way to look at automation is to dig deeper into the economic gains of workers. Currently, a high-skills seamstress can put together a pair of custom pants in about two hours from beginning to end. With automation, he or she can focus on the most skill-demanding steps, e.g. back pocket placement, and can realistically finish a pair of custom jeans under 20 minutes. Ultimately, he or she will share a greater economic profit through automation.
Who is your sewing partner?
Our California sewing partner is National Apparel. SFMade, a San Francisco-based non-profit organisation that supports local manufacturers for a more vibrant, equitable, and resilient economy, recently ran a feature together with our sewing partner: https://sfmade.org/blog/company-spotlight-denim-unspun/
Is there any latest research work you are doing to make the customisation process simpler?
We are constantly fine-tuning our software algorithms so that they are more accurate and quicker to pick up new information and have also looked into how the relationship between the user and the jeans grow with time now that we have more information. We have begun a wear log where our ambassadors provide us with valuable feedback about how the jeans age. That has also sparked internal conversations about how we should treat the afterlife of jeans that have served their missions!
What does robotics mean in terms of outshoring for manufacture?
One benefit of automation is that onshoring will become more and more feasible. Especially in the world of fashion where consumer taste and trend change rapidly, supply chain needs to keep up. Enabling manufacturing to happen closer to end market will allow brands and producers react in a more agile fashion to these changing dynamics.
For outsourced manufacturing activities, we are observing a shift away from a sole focus on cost. In the medium term, we are also seeing the beginning of the end of cheap labour as we are already producing in places like Ethiopia. Labour costs are generally going to rise and manufacturers are already looking to automation as part of the solution.
Efficiency will increase with robotics. Right now, many people choose to do business based on lowest cost. This has proven detrimental to the conditions and livelihood of workers. With automation and robotics, the playing field will level out. Ideally, this encourages localised manufacturing as the forms and cost of producing closer to home will become more accessible and desirable. There are endless benefits to this. For one, money flows into your neighbourhood. For another, products are made to the liking and the level of quality the people buying them want (which typically means better quality). Local production gives authority to local people who can control and implement responsible practices for workers and the environment. With products reflecting a place and time, diversification is a natural byproduct. The world would look and feel entirely different than it does now, given more care and awareness for people near and far.
How does your supply chain network work? Which regions of the world form your supply chain?
We work closely with our manufacturing partners to deliver the quality customers expect of our denim jeans. Currently, we work with partners in parts of Asia, Europe and North America.
The jeans market is overcrowded. How differently do you wish to promote your product?
We chose to manufacture customised jeans for this reason. Everyone wears them and wears them differently, so it was a great product to reinvent the process for. Since the jeans are made from body scanning technology and fabrics that form best to each style, made sustainably, our jeans are inherently different. In regards to promoting that, we think it speaks for itself once someone wears them. We intend to send our messages of automation, sustainability, inclusion, and fun to show what our product stands for. Our product shines because of the intentional methods and materials we use.
You are present in San Francisco and Hong Kong. Which are the other markets which hold a lot of promise for you in future?
The usual suspects of countries with deep denim culture such as Japan, the Netherlands and the United States are obvious targets. Outside of core denim markets, customers that are attracted to sustainable fashion and futuristic trends are also drawn to the brand.
Which brands and retailers are you currently associated with?
We are under strict non-disclosure agreements, but we are in lively conversations with brands and retailers that naturally have a big innovation and sustainability agenda.
Describe the process of making customised jeans.
Once customers decide it's time for their dream jeans, they will design their denim according to their unique style through:
1. cut-mission, offline, launch
2. colour of denim
3. waist-rise/leg-length preference
4. a 30-second, 3D body scan at one of our stores or a scanning station
Your perfect-fit jeans will arrive at your door in two to three weeks.
What are the positives for you becoming part of the SFMade community?
SFMade has helped us to scale local production. It connected us with our manufacturer, National Apparel on Market Street, which has made localised manufacturing possible for us alongside people we can grow a strong relationship with. The SFMade network is extensive and endlessly ambitious. We have hosted events with other folks in the community and it has proved powerful to spread the word with people who are focused on starting here in San Francisco. Since we marry technology, automation, fashion and sustainability, being connected with SFMade has allowed us to further promote an atmosphere of technology that is more grounded in human connection and awareness of nature. People in the community are receptive to this and we are grateful to SFMade for expanding our reach.
What can we expect from you in the future?
We are more guided by the impact we create on the world, and in that sense, I think the world will see that we will keep re-inventing ourselves through the creation of new products, experiences and strategies that serve that purpose. (PC)
