Robo-top: The machines that could make your next t-shirt

Robots are currently capable of assembling vehicles, executing delicate surgeries, and managing cargo logistics at airports. However, hand a robot a needle and thread, and it is likely to fail. This limitation explains why the vast majority of the world’s apparel is still produced by human hands, frequently employing low-wage laborers in Asia. While these workers utilize tools like sewing machines, fully automating the process remains a significant hurdle.

“If you are dealing with sewing, you have a problem,” explains Cam Myers, founder and CEO of CreateMe, a robotics firm based in California. “You have to keep [two pieces of fabric] in alignment under motion.”

CreateMe has opted for an alternative strategy: bypassing sewing entirely by using adhesive to bond fabric pieces. “Once the adhesive is laid down, you simply line something over it and stamp,” Myers notes. The company has already developed robots that employ this method and is currently manufacturing women’s underwear using this technique. Plans are in place to begin producing t-shirts in the coming months, with mass production potentially following next year.

The garment manufacturing sector has been a target for roboticists for decades. Should machines successfully take over this labor, clothing production could return to Western nations, potentially reducing the environmental impact of the industry. However, this shift would also jeopardize 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 reports that he has clients interested in marketing garments as “made in the US,” particularly those using domestic cotton. “We can use cotton, we can use wool, we can use leather,” he says regarding CreateMe’s adhesive-based process. He estimates that if automation allowed just 10% of t-shirt manufacturing to return to the US, it would represent a massive shift in the industry.

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

Despite these innovations, Myers acknowledges a major challenge in the apparel sector: the industry is “high flex.” In other words, producing only white t-shirts is not a viable business model. Consumers demand a wide variety of styles, colors, and designs. Current clothing-producing robots are still far from meeting this diverse demand.

There is also ongoing debate regarding the future of garment construction. “We don’t believe that sewing is going away,” states Palaniswanyi Rajan, chairman and CEO of Softwear Automation, a US-based firm in Georgia. He highlights that visible stitching is a crucial design element in many fashionable items, most notably jeans. Rajan claims his company will soon unveil the third generation of its sewing robots, which he asserts will produce t-shirts at a cost comparable to importing them to the US. However, he has declined to provide specific technical details.

Due to fierce competition for a share of the massive apparel market, multiple companies interviewed by the BBC were hesitant to disclose how their robots operate. Meanwhile, textile workers are already facing significant pressure, having endured factory closures during the pandemic and more recently, disruptions to polyester supplies caused by the war in Iran.

While industry representatives often suggest that displaced workers should seek better-paying, less repetitive roles, simply transferring t-shirt production to robots will not achieve this transition overnight. 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. Additionally, the apparel sector consumes vast amounts of water.

“If you can re-shore the manufacturing part, you can just produce there on-demand,” says Gerald Feichtinger at the Technical University.

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