Microfactory: Solution for the Future of Textile Industry

Textile industry is changing.

Decades of being based on mass production have led to textile (fashion) industry being one of the leading environmental threats. Now, it is finally heading in a new direction – sustainability.

Sameness is replaced by individualism, corporate dictation is replaced by young designers, and mass print is being dethroned by custom print (on order).

Well, let’s start at the beginning.

Let’s see how things worked until recently.

Up until now, the textile industry was based on a few steps. First a design was created, a product was made, and then large amounts of this product were manufactured. In the end, this resulted in large stocks of products, the ones that can fulfil retail demands.

However, this is everything but sustainable. A huge portion of these products will end up as waste when a new collection hits the shelves, and the manufacturing process is problematic in itself. Lots of waste material is being made, and the colours and fabrics used are not sustainable. Why? Because in this case, corporations need to save money on the manufacturing process (cheaper processes are not eco-friendly) to compensate for the production of these large quantities.

So round and round we go and fill the Earth with trash and pollution.

However, millennials are a new and different generation, and they have clearly declared that they want a different direction.

This new path has been supported by the arrival of digital print.

What exactly is this about?

Individuality. Automatization. Digitalisation.

These are the guidelines that are leading the contemporary world and have found their way into the textile industry.

How does it work?

Simply put – instead of buying designs that someone else created, we come up with our own.

These designs are then digitally sent to the manufacturer (through a website or an app), and there they are printed on a product or a material. This way we don’t have large amounts of waste, and the manufacturing process is done locally, making it more sustainable.

This manufacturing process suits individual needs, young designers, influencers, craftspeople, small businesses and, most of all, nature. This process ensures a bright future of our planet and ourselves.

However, this process requires a high level of automatization and adaptability, something those classic factories cannot provide. Here is where microfactories come into the spotlight.

The idea of microfactories was first created in Japan in 1990.

These are the factories that are set in smaller spaces but have the ability to conduct a large number of processes – manufacturing, processing, packing and selling. How come?

Microfactories use modern technology that allows for a high level of automatization and digitalisation.

In other words, instead of needing five hours, two machines and five people to complete a process, in a microfactory it will be done in one hour, using one machine.

Well, all of this sounds great in theory, but what is it like in practice?

Let’s see how we do it at our microfactory – Caspar!

• Through an online customizer we receive the design from our buyer. Let’s say he wants it printed on a classic T-shirt.
• This design is then printed on a material this shirt is made of, Organic Single Cotton Jersey. We use eco-friendly textile inks that don’t require water, as well as digital print technology that is more sustainable.
• After we have printed the design, we cut the needed form and sew the T-shirt, making the amount of waste minimal.
• Et viola – the product is done! We only need to pack it and send it to the buyer.

So, the entire manufacturing process is done at our microfactory.

This doesn’t just suit the individuals’ needs. It works great for business owners that are looking for partners who can fulfil the needed quota, and can also go through all the production levels.

Here we reach another important thing for our factory – dropshipping.

Microfactories’ partners are often start-ups and small businesses for which it isn’t profitable to invest in all the machinery, workforce and other processes needed to start manufacturing – it is still on a scale that is too small.

They will use dropshipping – a business model in which a third party does certain processes for a company.

So, you can open an online store, but Caspar will be the one that processes, manufactures and sends the items to your buyers. That’s right – you needn’t worry about logistics, machinery, storage or other equipment. These are the advantages of microfactories!