By Aaron Carpenter, Founder, ACV Consulting

Published: June 19, 2026.

The Future of Domestic Apparel Manufacturing Has a New Address: Emeryville, CA

There are moments in an industry when the old model doesn't just look dated—it looks broken. Domestic apparel manufacturing is entering one of those moments right now. Rising tariffs, unpredictable demand, 30 billion unsold garments produced globally every year, and supply chains that require brands to commit to inventory 9–12 months before it hits shelves: this is the status quo. And it's one that a company called unspun™ is systematically dismantling.

I'm excited to announce that ACV Consulting has begun a project with unspun™.io, and I want to take a few minutes to explain why I think this is one of the most important companies in the apparel space right now and why the timing could not be better.

What unspun™ Does

Unspun™ is a B Corp–certified apparel technology company based in Emeryville, CA. Their mission is to redefine how apparel is made through 3D weaving, moving the industry toward a localized, on-demand, zero-waste supply chain powered by robotics and AI. Unspun™ was named one of 2025's “World’s Top Green Tech Companies” by Time Magazine.

The core technology is their proprietary Vega™ machine, which feeds thousands of individual yarns into a circular weaving core and produces seamless, shaped garment tubes, directly from raw yarn, in a single automated step. What used to require dozens of cut-and-sew operations across multiple facilities and weeks of lead time can now happen under one roof. The result is finished garments produced in a fraction of the time, with significantly less waste, and without the carbon footprint of traditional offshore production.

To put that in context, traditional apparel manufacturing involves raw materials, fiber processing, yarn production, fabric preparation, finishing, cut-and-sew assembly, and final finishing, each step in a separate facility, a separate country, and a separate risk point in the supply chain. unspun™'s 3D weaving eliminates most of that. The supply chain compression is an 80% reduction in lead times, moving toward a model of near-zero inventory and near-zero waste.

How to Join Us 

One of the things I appreciate most about unspun™'s approach to brand partnerships is the flexibility of its model. There isn't a one-size-fits-all mandate. Brands can engage in three distinct ways depending on where they are in their supply chain strategy:

• Unspun-led: unspun™ produces finished goods at its own facility and delivers directly. This is the fastest path to a Made in USA pilot, best for brands that want fast turnaround on smaller quantities without disrupting their existing manufacturing relationships.

• Manufacturer-led: unspun™ machines are deployed at your existing manufacturing partner's facility. Your manufacturer owns the machines, you provide volume, and you de-risk your supply chain without rebuilding it from scratch.

• Brand-led: For brands ready to own their manufacturing destiny, this model provides full production control, exclusive capacity, and the full margin potential of eliminating intermediaries.

Pilots are structured to be low-risk: select 2–3 SKUs from your bottoms assortment, run a test, evaluate quality and fit against your standards, and then build a unit economics model together. The typical timeline is 8–12 weeks from kickoff to the decision point—no long-term commitment until the numbers work for both sides.

The Industry Sees Our Value

In March 2026, unspun™ appointed Arne Arens as CEO, and for anyone who follows the apparel industry, that hire is a signal worth paying attention to. Arne spent over a decade at The North Face as Global Brand President, leading the brand through a period of significant global growth. He then became CEO of Boardriders, the parent company of Quiksilver, Billabong, and Roxy, and led the business through its acquisition by Authentic Brands Group.

In April 2026, Walmart and REI signed letters of support for unspun™'s plan to build domestic manufacturing hubs in the United States using 3D weaving technology. Several heavyweight national supply chain partners are also involved in establishing automated production facilities, with initial production expected in the near term. unspun™ has raised over $55M in total venture funding and has equipment ready for deployment as it evaluates sites across multiple states.

This is not a startup with a prototype. This is a company with proven technology, institutional brand relationships, and a serious leadership team building the infrastructure for domestic apparel manufacturing in a tariff-pressured, sustainability-driven world.

If you're a brand leader, innovation lead, or sustainability executive in the apparel space and want to understand how a pilot with unspun™ might work for your business, reach out. We're happy to make the introduction. 

Learn more at unspun.io. ACV Consulting provides human-led, AI-powered fractional CMO services for consumer and DTC brands—acvconsulting.com.