258
bottles since 1993, being the first outdoor company to transform this material into
fleece (Patagonia 2018). The company also makes use of recycled blended fabrics
such as Refibra™ Lyocell made of 80% wood and 20% recycled cotton. Their products are fair trade-certified by bluesign®, a Swiss-based company that certifies textile manufacturing by measuring energy consumption and CO2 emissions (Power
2012). Patagonia also works with bluesign® technologies since 2000 to approve
chemicals, processes, materials and products that are safe for the environment,
throughout each step in the textile supply chain (Patagonia 2018).
Another case in point is the German company Vaude. In 2018, it received the
GreenTec Award for its sustainable Green Shape Core Collection made with biobased textiles, recycled or natural materials (Vaude 2018). Some of the bio-based
textiles include Tencel, PrimaLoft® and Silver Insulation Natural Blend, made of
30% kapok tree and 70% fibres. Two-thirds of recycled materials used come from
post-consumer recycled PET bottles. The company also uses the recycled material
Econyl®, a yarn made of fishing nets collected from the ocean. Vaude (2018) also
uses organic certified cotton and certified Terracare® leather which is also sustainably tanned.
16.2.3.3.3 Seamless Garments, Shima Seiki Wholegarment
In clothing production, machinery has evolved considerably over the years. Hand
knitting has been industrialized by machinery capable of high speed and precise
techniques that enable mass production. Every day the evolution of more automatic,
faster, cleaner and advanced software has expanded its use in the fashion world.
Nowadays, knitting has proven to be capable of manufacturing almost any product
on the fashion market, which nobody would have otherwise thought to be possible.
For example, running shoes brands like Nike and Adidas are now using knitting in
mass production processes.
Knitting technology has reduced the processes in the production chain of clothing, avoiding, for example, weaving, cutting and, in some cases, sewing (Power
2012), especially with full garment or seamless garments machinery known as
Wholegarment technology. This technology produces complete pieces ready to
wear without requiring processes such as assembly, which results in the reduction
of post-production labour as well as cutting down production time. Power (2012)
explains that enhancements in knitting production due to technological developments demonstrate improvements in the product’s quality, raising productivity and
reducing cost “providing opportunities for new and modified products and techniques through innovation; and finally, reducing environmental impact of industrialized production” (Power 2012: 3).
Shima Seiki, a Japanese company, was the first to develop a fully automated
glove-knitting machine, and since then, Shima Seiki and the German company Stoll
have developed the most advanced technology on computerized machines for knitting. Shima Seiki was the first to introduce whole garment machines that work with
CAD software, SDS-ONE APEX 3. This software provides a 3D simulation with
C. Arana et al.
bottles since 1993, being the first outdoor company to transform this material into
fleece (Patagonia 2018). The company also makes use of recycled blended fabrics
such as Refibra™ Lyocell made of 80% wood and 20% recycled cotton. Their products are fair trade-certified by bluesign®, a Swiss-based company that certifies textile manufacturing by measuring energy consumption and CO2 emissions (Power
2012). Patagonia also works with bluesign® technologies since 2000 to approve
chemicals, processes, materials and products that are safe for the environment,
throughout each step in the textile supply chain (Patagonia 2018).
Another case in point is the German company Vaude. In 2018, it received the
GreenTec Award for its sustainable Green Shape Core Collection made with biobased textiles, recycled or natural materials (Vaude 2018). Some of the bio-based
textiles include Tencel, PrimaLoft® and Silver Insulation Natural Blend, made of
30% kapok tree and 70% fibres. Two-thirds of recycled materials used come from
post-consumer recycled PET bottles. The company also uses the recycled material
Econyl®, a yarn made of fishing nets collected from the ocean. Vaude (2018) also
uses organic certified cotton and certified Terracare® leather which is also sustainably tanned.
16.2.3.3.3 Seamless Garments, Shima Seiki Wholegarment
In clothing production, machinery has evolved considerably over the years. Hand
knitting has been industrialized by machinery capable of high speed and precise
techniques that enable mass production. Every day the evolution of more automatic,
faster, cleaner and advanced software has expanded its use in the fashion world.
Nowadays, knitting has proven to be capable of manufacturing almost any product
on the fashion market, which nobody would have otherwise thought to be possible.
For example, running shoes brands like Nike and Adidas are now using knitting in
mass production processes.
Knitting technology has reduced the processes in the production chain of clothing, avoiding, for example, weaving, cutting and, in some cases, sewing (Power
2012), especially with full garment or seamless garments machinery known as
Wholegarment technology. This technology produces complete pieces ready to
wear without requiring processes such as assembly, which results in the reduction
of post-production labour as well as cutting down production time. Power (2012)
explains that enhancements in knitting production due to technological developments demonstrate improvements in the product’s quality, raising productivity and
reducing cost “providing opportunities for new and modified products and techniques through innovation; and finally, reducing environmental impact of industrialized production” (Power 2012: 3).
Shima Seiki, a Japanese company, was the first to develop a fully automated
glove-knitting machine, and since then, Shima Seiki and the German company Stoll
have developed the most advanced technology on computerized machines for knitting. Shima Seiki was the first to introduce whole garment machines that work with
CAD software, SDS-ONE APEX 3. This software provides a 3D simulation with
C. Arana et al.