Rodinia Generation raises €4 million to automate European apparel production
Rodinia Generation said on Monday it has secured 4 million euros ($4.5 million) to scale its on-demand manufacturing pilot. The automation aims to produce clothes in Europe at the same cost as Asia, cutting lead time to up to 48 hours versus six months overseas.
The company's patented O-factory technology combines proprietary software and machinery to handle complex, on-demand production of thousands of styles. A single O-factory line in Copenhagen has demonstrated the ability to make 80 percent of clothing categories, from evening dresses to childrenswear, at competitive margins. The new funding will open an industrial-scale O-factory in Portugal and is projected to cut carbon emissions by about 40 percent per garment while eliminating water use in the process. According to Rodinia's calculations, an O-factory producing half the annual output of a large fast-fashion brand could save roughly 100 billion liters of water and one million tonnes of CO2 each year.
“We have demonstrated in Copenhagen that a single O-factory line can produce 80 percent of clothing categories, including evening dresses, formal shirts, football tees, swimwear and childrenswear, just to mention a few of the categories that have already achieved competitive margins,” Trine Young, founder and CEO of Rodinia Generation said.
“What attracted us is not sustainability alone, but the potential to change the economics of apparel production by combining automation, flexibility and local manufacturing at commercial scale,” Nathalie Moral, founding partner at Vitamin°C said.
The company said in a statement on Monday that the investment was led by early-stage venture capital climate-tech investor Vitamin%C, reflecting a vote of confidence for its patented O-factory technology. Rodinia said it is becoming more difficult for the industry to automate fashion production because it no longer simply manufactures large quantities of identical products.
What we know
Rodinia Generation secured 4 million euros ($4.5 million) to scale its on-demand manufacturing pilot.
Brands would need up to 48 hours of lead time for production versus six months overseas.
A single O-factory line can produce 80 percent of clothing categories.
Rodinia’s O-factory is designed to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40 percent per garment on average while eliminating water use.
An O-factory producing half the annual volume of a large fast‑fashion brand can save approximately 100 billion liters of water and one million tonnes of carbon emissions.