British garment manufacturer Fashion-Enter has partnered digital cutting equipment supplier Zund UK to showcase a sustainable “micro-factory” concept in London.
The project, drawing on the high-performance technology of Zünd single-ply cutters, aims to demonstrate the potential for sustainable and on-demand garment manufacturing within the UK.
Founded in 2006, Fashion-Enter Ltd (FEL) is a not-for-profit social enterprise specialising in ethical garment manufacturing with units in Haringey in north London and Newtown in Powys.
With no minimum order quantity, it produces up to 40,000 garments a week for clients and brands such as ASOS, N Brown, Simply B, Brora and Matthew Williamson.
Already partnering Kornit Digital for garment printing and customisation, Fashion-Enter has installed the Zünd D3 cutter as part of the “micro-factory” project with Zund UK.
It aims to demonstrate how high-performance digital cutting systems from Zünd, combined with highly advanced and intuitive software, enables fully automated digital cutting with minimal manual intervention.
Fashion-Enter’s chief executive officer, Jenny Holloway, said: “In light of the recent unprecedented demand for make in the UK, the timing of our unique partnership is excellent.
“In the last week alone, we have had five major retailers and e-tails contact FEL for speed of response fashion and now, thanks to Zünd’s outstanding cutting technology, we can commit to leaner and more efficient manufacturing.
“Zünd is particularly effective on one-piece flow which is the future of garment manufacturing, working within the parameters of a micro factory which in time we will extend to our Welsh site too in Newtown, Powys.”
The team at Zund UK believe digitisation and automation are the path to the future in apparel manufacturing, with single-ply cutting providing the solution to changing demands across the textile industry. In an increasingly digital production environment, order sizes are smaller, order cycles shorter, and the degree of customisation keeps increasing.
Dean Ashworth, sales and marketing director at Zund UK, said: “The project is aimed at brands and retailers: we want to demonstrate to them how they can create a sustainable manufacturing facility in the UK.
“We believe on-shoring apparel manufacturing will support the growing trend for made-to-order and ethical production.
“Furthermore, technology and production strategies are developing to deliver the capabilities needed to reshape the fashion industry. Zünd single-ply cutters are setting new standards in speed, efficiency, and accuracy.
“The Zünd D3 cutter delivers ultimate performance and productivity with two cutting beams operating simultaneously with sophisticated nesting algorithms increasing material yield and helping to keep production costs low.”
