On-demand, Zero-waste Textile-form Microfactories for Resilient Fashion Futures

The textile and clothing industry is responsible for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is linked to large-scale waste, resource exploitation, and labour issues. Current solutions often target emissions per product, but systemic inefficiencies—such as overproduction and high post-industrial waste—continue to amplify impacts. Europe urgently needs new design and production models that reduce waste, cut reliance on offshore labour, and align with EU goals for circularity, digitalisation, and resilience.INTERWeuVEN responds by harnessing Textile-Form Weaving (TFW), a design-fabrication method enabling the simultaneous and on-demand creation of woven textile structure and product form. Using computational design with existing jacquard looms, TFW eliminates cutting and sewing, reduces manual labour, and delivers zero-waste garments that can be produced locally in high-wage economies. The project develops AI-assisted design tools, linking interfaces, and modular automation workflows to scale TFW into microfactories that integrate on-demand production, sustainable materials, and Digital Product Passports (DPPs). By reshoring production into adaptable, resource-efficient microfactories, INTERWeuVEN directly contributes to EU strategic autonomy, the EU Textile Strategy, and the Green Deal. It advances new business models for Local Automated Design-Manufacturing as a Service, enabling resilient local value chains while supporting skills development and job creation.The consortium brings leading expertise in design research, engineering, and industry (incl. SMEs). Partners contribute novel TFW methods, consumer insights, and digital tools to make the technology accessible today and for future generations. With workflows spanning design, weaving, systems integration, and robot-assisted fabrication, validated through FSTP and regional pilots, INTERWeuVEN charts a pathway toward a sustainable, circular, and competitive European textile industry.