【Jumpstarter 1 minute】 unspun – E-tailors are coming to you
by Jumpstarter
Business
October 26, 2017
Can fashion be sustainable, intentional and environmentally friendly?
If Elizabeth Esponnette and her team get their way, the answer is yes. Esponnette and her team are behind an innovative apparel startup that aims to flip the traditional business model of selling clothes on its head.
Unspun believes apparel should be made for the individuals, on demand and in a simplified, intentional and sustainable process. By utilizing a body scan, Unspun is able to take 3D scans of a customer’s body to ensure the perfect fit. After the scan is done, the customer picks the apparel he or she wants and the garment is produced in a matter of hours.
“The big mission is to reduce the global carbon footprint by 1 percent through our technology. We want to alter the way the fashion industry currently plans 18 months in advance in order to anticipate market needs. With the body scanner, the customer is telling the fashion companies what to make,” said Esponnette.
Together with her two other co-founders, the team has a deep background in fashion, supply chain management and technology. Their big dream stems from a desire to cut waste in society and make fashion more inclusive.
“That motivation comes from waste, but we also love the idea of making sizing no longer an issue. Using our technology, you will get the perfect fit each time, you are not a size number,” said Esponnette.
In the current manufacturing processes, yarn is woven into fabric and then that fabric is cut into different pieces suited for different styles and sizes. After the fabric is cut, it is re-stitched into the final product. With the body scanner and the fit algorithms that Unspun uses, the garment goes from yarn to finished product without having to be cut and be re-stitched.
The short-term goal for Unspun is to recruit more testers who can get their body scanned and then for the company to build denim garments for them to test the accuracy of the fit algorithms. The company is currently developing the body scanner in Shenzhen and hopes to have it completed in 18 months.
“Neither the clothing industry nor the sewing machine have changed in the past about 200 years. It’s crazy to think how phones have changed in the last 30 years and the clothing industry hasn’t. I think the next 20 years will be disruptive to the fashion industry,” Esponnette said.
If Elizabeth Esponnette and her team get their way, the answer is yes. Esponnette and her team are behind an innovative apparel startup that aims to flip the traditional business model of selling clothes on its head.
“That motivation comes from waste, but we also love the idea of making sizing no longer an issue. Using our technology, you will get the perfect fit each time, you are not a size number,” said Esponnette.
