Robo-top: The Machines Poised to Construct Your Next T-Shirt

Robots currently dominate industries ranging from automotive assembly and surgical precision to airport logistics. However, equip most of these machines with a needle and thread, and they are likely to fail. Consequently, the vast majority of the world’s apparel remains handmade, frequently by low-wage laborers in Asia. While these workers utilize tools like sewing machines, the complete automation of this craft has proven elusive.

“If you’re dealing with sewing, you have a problem,” explains Cam Myers, founder and CEO of California-based robotics firm CreateMe. “You must maintain alignment between [two pieces of fabric] while in motion.”

Myers’ company has opted for an alternative strategy: abandoning stitching entirely in favor of adhesive bonding. “Once the adhesive is applied, you merely position an item over it and apply pressure,” Myers describes. CreateMe has engineered robots to execute this method and is already utilizing the technology to produce women’s underwear. The firm plans to expand into t-shirt production within the next few months, with mass manufacturing anticipated to follow in the coming year.

For decades, roboticists have targeted the garment sector. If machines can successfully assume these roles, clothing production could return to Western nations, potentially reducing the environmental impact of the industry. However, this shift threatens the livelihoods of millions of textile workers. Currently, only a small fraction of clothing sold in the UK and the US is domestically produced. Myers notes that he has clients interested in marketing garments as “Made in the US,” utilizing domestic materials like cotton. “We can utilize cotton, wool, leather,” he states regarding CreateMe’s adhesive technique. He suggests that if automation enabled just 10% of t-shirt manufacturing to return to the US, it would trigger a significant transformation in the industry.

Myers insists that the thermoset adhesive used by CreateMe is durable enough to withstand washing machine temperatures and ironing without melting or causing the garments to disassemble. Furthermore, because these clothes lack seams, they offer a streamlined fit and can be produced on molds that mimic the human body’s contours.

Despite these innovations, Myers acknowledges that the apparel sector’s “high flex” nature presents a major hurdle. “You won’t get very far if you just make white t-shirts,” he admits. Consumers demand endless variety in color, design, and fit. Consequently, clothes-producing robots are still far from handling such diversity.

A debate also persists regarding the fundamental technology. Palaniswamy Rajan, chairman and CEO of Georgia-based Softwear Automation, argues that “sewing is not going away.” He highlights that visible stitching remains a critical design element in many fashionable items, particularly jeans. Rajan claims his company is preparing to announce a third-generation sewing robot capable of producing t-shirts at a cost comparable to importing them to the US, though he declined to disclose technical details.

Competition for the lucrative apparel market has led many firms, including those interviewed by the BBC, to keep their robotic processes confidential. Meanwhile, textile workers are already facing pressures from pandemic-related factory closures and recent geopolitical conflicts, such as the war in Iran, which have disrupted polyester supplies. While industry advocates suggest workers should transition to higher-paying, less repetitive roles, simply replacing t-shirt production with robots will not achieve this outcome instantly.

One significant advantage of automating garment manufacturing, however, is the potential to drastically lower the industry’s environmental footprint. Globally, 92 million tonnes of textile waste are generated annually, with large quantities of unsold clothing being incinerated. The sector also consumes immense amounts of water. “If you can bring manufacturing back onshore, you can produce on demand,” says Gerald Feichtinger of the Technical University [of Munich].

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-05-18 23:04:14 UTC