Decathlon to establish unspun’s 3D weaving in Europe

Category: FABRICS

Country: France

Vega technology unlocks scalable potential for on-demand production.

16th October 2024
By Innovation in Textiles
Oakland, CA, USA

Decathlon Pulse, the investment arm and start-up studio of French-headquartered sports brand Decathlon, is investing in and guaranteeing a European off-take agreement through to 2030 with 3D weaving pioneer and B-corp, unspun.

This follows the $32 million Series B funding round of Oakland, California-based unspun and a partnership with Walmart for the USA development of Vega 3D weaving technology adoption. Exact terms of the new deal have not been disclosed, but the aim is to deploy unspun’s Vega machines to pioneer local, low-waste and low-inventory production in Europe.

Unspun’s Vega weaves semi-finished products directly from yarns.

“Decathlon has been a great partner from the very beginning,” said Walden Lam, CEO and co-founder of unspun. “This collaboration enables us to provide apparel products that have been produced in a more sustainable way to mainstream customers in Europe. Collectively, we are contributing to carbon neutrality objectives on millions of garments in a bid to help the fashion industry reduce waste from the supply chain. Our Vega technology is a key step on this journey to bring fast, low-impact, circular, and cost-effective production in low operating volumes to Europe.”

Vega unlocks scalable potential for on-demand production, allowing brands to establish micro-factories for localised and automated manufacturing. With the EU’s Waste Framework Directive regulations on the horizon, unspun’s approach and technology offer brands better management of finished goods inventory levels, reducing waste from unsold inventory.

“We are thrilled to team-up with unspun,” said Franck Vigo, CEO of Decathlon Pulse. “This partnership will enable Decathlon to reduce waste within the manufacturing process and strengthen our commitment to sustainability. By leveraging the potential of 3D weaving we are working to revolutionise the garment manufacturing process and offer consumers customised, recyclable and locally-produced products.”

Unspun’s technology has already been featured in America’s Top Greentech companies 2024 by Time magazine, Vogue 100 innovator’s list, Newsweek’s Climate Change Innovators, TIME’s Best Inventions, and Fast Company’s World-Changing Ideas.

Courtesy: Iinnovationintextiles.com