Making Eco

The apparel industry's reliance on traditional long-lead, mass production supply chain models is far from sustainable. Not only is it impacting the planet, but it is also harming businesses’ health.

"The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries on the planet, both in terms of raw production, and then the waste that's created from unsold product," said Don Whaley, vice president of marketing at Kornit, during a fireside chat with Sourcing Journal managing editor and technology editor Jessica Binns. "So fundamentally…what we’re hoping to drive and bring to the industry is a sustainable business model and a sustainable production methodology, and do both at the same time."

The solution? Producing only what will definitely sell. Technology such as artificial intelligence supports smarter demand planning, while speedier manufacturing models execute on actual demand. Kornit makes digital printing solutions that allow for mass customization and nearshore production that can shorten the supply chain and give brands more flexibility to respond to trends and market fluctuations.

"There's no question that nearshoring/onshoring is a hot topic across the industry as a whole," said Whaley. "What we’re seeing are the big brands definitely starting to explore that area." He added that Latin America is of growing interest. "What our technology enables is that high-volume, customized production, so high-volume short-run, which really lends itself to a nearshore or onshore model."

Kornit's latest launch, Apollo, is designed to scale nearshoring and mass customization. The platform—which includes semi-automated loading, automated unloading, smart curing and machine vision to check quality—allows a single operator to create up to 400 prints per hour.

If companies can't run their own nearshoring operations or don't want to invest in their own infrastructure, Kornit is establishing a global fulfillment network of customers who can produce locally for other brands using the technology.

One of the biggest challenges that Whaley sees for companies is changing existing operations in "legacy supply chains" to allow for new models. "How do I keep running my business when I’ve got a supply chain model that may be 25, 30 years old and is very well established?" he noted.

Watch the video to hear more about how Kornit is addressing the industry's sustainability needs and short lead production. And see Whaley speak about "Scaling Sustainable On-Demand Production" at Sourcing Journal's virtual Global Outlook event on June 27.

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