Your next pair of jeans could be made by a robot in under 10 minutes. Fashion-tech leader Unspun just reached a big goal in eco-friendly manufacturing, raising $32 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round to speed up its new 3D weaving technology. This new investment shows that more people see new ways of making clothes as a key answer to fashion’s environmental problems.
Revolutionary Technology Meets Market Demand
The funding round, led by deep tech investor DCVC, brought together climate-focused investors like Lowercarbon Capital, E12, Decathlon, and SOSV. This mix of investors shows strong trust in Unspun’s Vega 3D weaving technology, which can make clothes straight from yarn in about 10 minutes.
Walden Lam, CEO of Unspun, said: “Overproduction has long been a taboo in fashion. It is now recognized by top-tier climate-funds as a key issue to urgently solve for the industry”. The company’s technology addresses this critical issue by enabling on-demand manufacturing that eliminates the need for excess inventory.
Transforming Traditional Manufacturing
Unspun’s Vega technology represents a fundamental shift from conventional apparel production. Unlike traditional cut-and-sew methods, the 3D weaving process creates garments as single, seamless pieces directly from yarn, dramatically reducing waste and production time. The technology offers compelling performance improvements: four times faster production, 53% emissions reduction, 49% reduced energy demand, and 39% reduced blue water consumption compared to traditional processes.
Milo Werner, general partner at DCVC, who will join Unspun’s board of directors, said: “Unspun offers a tremendous economic and logistical unlock for the fashion industry by eliminating costly overproduction and radically shortening the supply chain. We think it’s good business to align profits and climate impact and are excited to help Unspun revolutionize the way clothing is made”.
Strategic Partnerships
Unspun’s new funding comes after its big partnership with Walmart, the world’s top retailer. This partnership wants to make manufacturing local and help track supply chains in North America. The first project is men’s chinos made with 3D weaving, and the plan is to have 350 machines in the US by 2030.
Andrea Albright, executive vice president, Sourcing, Walmart, said: “At Walmart, we are laser-focused on bringing innovation to our supply chain to better serve our customers and solve industry challenges, and unspun has the potential to do just that”.
The technology has also been noticed through work with fashion label Eckhaus Latta, showing the first 3D woven collection at New York Fashion Week, and helping designer Ana Kraš start her lifestyle brand.
Addressing Industry-Wide Challenges
The fashion industry is under more pressure to lower its environmental impact, making up about 2-3% of global carbon emissions each year. Old ways of making clothes waste a lot, with 15% fabric waste, but Unspun’s technology makes less than 3% waste.
Beth Esponnette, co-founder and chief product officer, said: “One big problem with the clothing industry today is that because clothing is made before people want it, excess inventory has to be produced”. This problem means a lot of unsold clothes end up as waste.
Scaling for Global Impact
The Series B funding will help Unspun grow in North America and Europe, where new rules may limit production and ban waste. The technology helps companies follow these new rules and make clothes locally.
Woven products are 57% of the total apparel market, showing how much Unspun’s technology could help. The company’s first micro-factory is in Oakland, California, and is both its headquarters and a place to show off what the technology can do.
Kevin Martin, co-founder and chief technology officer, said: “We believe that if we can think of the next generation of apparel and build a process that’s much more automated and enables on-demand manufacturing, we can allow an industry that has, more or less, left the US to come back”.
This funding puts Unspun in a good spot to change how clothes are made, using local, automated production that matches profit with caring for the planet. As fashion faces new rules and more customers want to know how things are made, Unspun’s technology gives a real way to make better, more responsible clothes.
