Sustainability Problem
Water usage and discharge in the apparel industry.
Technology Article
3D Fabric Printing: Electroloom’s technology relies on a proprietary liquid solution and an ‘electrospinning’ process they have dubbed Field Guided Fabrication (FGF), which allows for the direct conversion of raw material into a finished good, with absolutely zero sewing, and only basic CAD skills required.
- Users begin by creating a mold of the desired garment
- The mold can be designed in 3D CAD modeling software, a 2D graphics program such as Adobe Illustrator, or it can even be handmade from just about any fabric
- The mold is inserted into the Electroloom 3D printer’s chamber, followed by the proprietary liquid solution
- During the FGF process, the solution is guided onto the mold by an electric field, coating and binding the nano-fibers into a seamless, cohesive, 3D fabric.
- Can create vibrant colored fabrics without the need for secondary dying, water usage, or post-processing
- According to the company, garments created with the Electroloom 3D clothing printer use 292 times less water than a traditionally manufactured garment.
Stakeholders
- Electroloom
- Mills
- Garment producers
- Fashion/Apparel Brands
- Apparel global supply chain
Deployment
- Vet technology
- Test with consumers
- Partner with centers for sustainability and innovation within apparel industry
- Identify first movers in apparel 3D Printer
- Implement technology in pilot facilities
- Scale
