A Wrinkle in the Plan

One result of the current pandemic has been an increased focus on how to restructure the textiles industry’s fragile global supply chain. Brands and retailers appear to be thinking more seriously about how and what to reshore. And a growing number of industry manufacturers are either establishing microfactories for on-demand production or augmenting conventional manufacturing with digital components. 

This is a process that will take quite some time to gain critical mass. And one of the key barriers is the availability (or lack) of skilled labor. For an all-digital manufacturer, like OnPoint Manufacturing, a high level of automation takes away some of the bite in terms of labor skills. In the OnPoint model, stock white fabric can be digitally printed, moved to the cutting table inline and intelligently cut. Pieces of each garment are gathered into a barcoded bin and directed to the appropriate seamstress(es) for finishing. Up to that point, very little skilled labor is required.

OnPoint Manufacturing: Automated On-Demand Apparel Manufacturing

But therein lies the rub. Even though much has been automated in industrial sewing machines, it still takes a skilled operator to produce a quality garment. OnPoint has designed a process that enables individual seamstresses to be competent at particular skills, like cap sleeves, for example, with projects requiring those skills automatically directed to the right seamstress who is using the right color thread and has the bandwidth to produce her portion of the garment.

But few factories have that level of automation, and few if any schools are teaching sewing skills these days. We spoke with Frank Henderson, who is the third-generation owner of Henderson Sewing Machine and has been with the company for 44 years.

“We have been involved in developing a digital textile supply chain that enables complete vertical integration, allowing manufacturers to see the product from the cotton field through carding, spinning, weaving or knitting, dyeing, finishing and all the way through cut-and-sew," he said. "In this model, a product might be developed one time in 3D, converted to a 2D pattern, cut and sent to individual work cells, manual or automated devices. It’s a sustainable model because we can produce what we need when we need it in a minimum order quantity of one all the way up through thousands.”

But this, he says, still requires a skilled seamstress with hand dexterity and hand-eye coordination, and workforce development is a huge issue in the developed world.

“We’ve lost a significant amount of the sewn products industry in America, and training for sewing operators has been, is and will continue to be a real problem because we have lost so many skilled people.” 

Industrial sewing is semi-automated but still requires skilled seamstresses

One solution to this problem is a mobile app, Shimmy.io, that has the ability to send work instructions or training aids to the individual workstations in multiple languages. Automation also allows the ability to record exactly what the operator is doing and how the machine is performing, measuring the actual output per day. 

We also spoke to Michael McDonald, President of Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA), a trade organization representing the manufacturers of the equipment and other components in the sewn products industry. He pointed out that in terms of sewing automation, we are at a point when sewing of simpler products such as masks, pillows or anything with a straight line, can be automated.

“But the second you try to automate sewing a curve, it’s a whole new ball game," he said. "There are a lot of companies working on this, ranging from how do you hold the fiber down, do you stiffen it and what effect does that have on the hand feel of the final product, how do you keep the fabric from wrinkling – there are a lot of challenges to sewing a curve. It’s very difficult to replace that tactile component of sewing.”

That brings us back to the issue of the lack of skilled workers and what can be done to both attract new talent to the industry and train people in the necessary skills.

“There are two main dynamics I have seen in my research [for my Ph.D. in workforce development]," McDonald said. "One is that we have lost a lot of the training capacity we had, and the second dynamic, which is the reason for the first one, is that our industry has a branding issue. When the industry went offshore, working in a cut-and-sew factory became kind of a threat – go to college or you will have to work in the factory. Whereas back in the day, you went to college while working in the factory. It’s a good gig today, and it’s not like it used to be. They need to understand the software that drives these new sewing machines as well as the mechanics of the sewing machine. The industry as a whole needs to attract more talent, and we haven’t done a good job of that.”

The Carolina Textile District is one example cited by McDonald that has done an amazing job of getting into high schools, teaching, training and inspiring the next generation. North Carolina’s Manufacturing Solutions Center also does great work in introducing high school students to the opportunities available in the industry. Both McDonald and Henderson mentioned the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center (ISAIC) in Detroit, a national resource for those committed to positive impact through responsible production of high-quality garments and provides solutions centered around people, education, advanced manufacturing and upward mobility for workers. Another example is the Austin [Texas] Community College Fashion Incubator which offers continuing education, dual-credit programs with local high schools, and an incubator for start-up businesses in the fashion sector.

How long will it take to more fully automate sewing with robots, sewbots, co-bots and other technologies? Experts range their estimates between five and 15 years. Meanwhile, there is much that can be done to attract new talent to the industry, train and educate that talent, and reduce that “last mile” barrier to reshoring that sewing has represented, making it easier to implement a stronger supply chain with both off-shore and on-shore components that will increase productivity and decrease the environmental footprint of the textiles and apparel industry.