Fashion for Good, a global initiative “to make all fashion good”, and SoftWear Automation, an Atlanta-based robotic sewing company, will be collaborating through Fashion for Good’s Scaling Programme to facilitate change that is accessible, affordable and attractive for all.

SoftWear and Fashion for Good will work together to encourage the widespread use of fully automated Sewbot worklines for T-shirts and apparel, footwear and home goods.

“At the core of Fashion for Good is innovation. Together with our partners, we aim to use innovation to move towards a world in which we take, make and remake, rather than take, make and waste. We are excited to welcome SoftWear Automation into our Scaling Programme and we look forward to collaborating with them to make their revolutionary Sewbot worklines technology mainstream,” said Katrin Ley, Managing Director of Fashion for Good.

Scaling Programme

Fashion for Good, an initiative launched with an initial grant by founding partner C&A Foundation, convenes brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders, united in their shared ambition to reimagine the way fashion is designed, made, worn and reused.

Therefore, Fashion for Good hand-selected SoftWear Automation from an extensive list of innovators. As a Scaling Programme participant, SoftWear gains access to a network of technologists, scientists and industry experts, enabling it to accelerate and expand the adoption of its revolutionary Sewbot worklines.

Sewbot worklines

“Our Sewbots bring manufacturing closer to the consumer, reducing shipping, inventory and carbon dioxide,” said Palaniswamy Rajan, SoftWear Automation Chairman and CEO. “The current apparel supply chain is one of the largest polluters second to oil and is only held in place through the exploitation of low-cost labour.”

SoftWear Automation’s Sewbot worklines combine patented computer vision with light weight robotics to move fabric to and through the needle more efficiently than a human operator. This industry-leading technology allows manufacturers to Sewlocal, geographically shortening the distance between the manufacturer and consumer, while creating higher quality products.

“Fashion for Good shares our view that the global supply chain is broken, and we are excited to see how we can accelerate brands, manufacturers and partners to ‘SEWLOCAL’.  The apparel industry invests less than 1% into R&D and it is not just behind in creating new ideas, but implementing them as well. This programme addresses both and we look forward to ‘doing good’ through this partnership,” said Pete Santora, CCO of SoftWear Automation.

www.fashionforgood.com