Sustainable Sock Production with Digital Dyeing Tech

Problem

Twine Solutions and Santoni were facing a challenge in producing socks that met the international demand for sport, fashion, and technical socks. The traditional process of sock production was time-consuming, wasteful, and inefficient. The need for faster production times, reduced waste, and sustainable production processes led to the development of a new solution. To meet these challenges, on one hand Twine Solutions developed digital waterless thread and yarn dyeing technology that supports reducing waste, minimizing production, and eliminating water use. On the other one, Santoni's X MACHINE circular sock knitting machine offered a sustainable production process with record production times producing seamless socks that eliminated the need to cut and sew fabrics.

Solution

The solution was to combine Twine Solutions' digital waterless thread and yarn dyeing technology with Santoni's X MACHINE circular sock knitting machine for on-demand production of socks. This latest release enabled faster switches between jobs, further strengthening the agility and efficiency of digital dyeing for sample production. The combination of these two cutting-edge technologies allowed for unlimited patterns and color combinations while creating different densities and elasticities in the same product. The result was meeting the international demand both for sport, fashion, and technical socks while reducing waste, minimizing production time, eliminating water use, speeding up finishing times.

https://www.knittingindustry.com/on-demand-production-of-socks-at-texprocess/

Impact

• Innovative sustainable solution for sock production adopted later on by Nike and other major sports brands
• My role
  • Collaborated with Twine Solutions to integrate technology with X MACHINE circular sock knitting machine for on-demand