Based on Eton’s well-proven UPS transport system for material handling and powered by the company’s ETONingenious Factory 4.0 software, the aUPS exploits the latest AI to instantly grade individual garments by colour, size, style, and where possible manufacturer. It also instantaneously analyses and highlights any damage to the garment and makes recommendations for possible repairs, while calculating a resell price.

“The collected information is fed into a calculation model that, based on market data, makes suggestions for a sales price,” explained Eton Sales and Marketing Manager Sven Sørbo in Frankfurt. “At the same time, the garment is photographed for marketing and then transported to a warehouse to await sale.”

The potential of the aUPS module has already been recognised by several prominent retail brands who are currently trialling it. It was developed as part of the Microfactories System Innovation project which has also involved specialists at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, the Automation Region innovation cluster at Mälardalen University and the iHubs Sweden national collaboration platform.

The project builds on previous work that had mainly focused on developing small-scale, local and needs-based production. Now the focus is on the growing market for reuse.

“The online resale segment alone is huge and forecast to double over the next five years and volumes are now so large that handling has to be automated for it to work,” said Ellen Flybäck, a consultant affiliated with the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås. “The new EU regulations requiring the separate collection of textiles are without doubt having an impact, but we are also seeing an increasingly positive attitude towards reuse and greater awareness of the textile industry’s environmental footprint.”

“Collaboration with universities and innovation environments helps us to be at the forefront,” added Eton’s sales and marketing director Jan Johansson. “We can participate in freer and more visionary development, without having to take on all the work ourselves. But above all, it is about contributing to a more circular industry, where materials can be used for longer and in a smarter way.”

Many TMAS member companies are now developing technologies that support the textile industry’s shift towards more circular and resource-efficient business models.

“Eton’s development clearly illustrates how Swedish innovation is moving beyond traditional production efficiency towards enabling entirely new value chains based on reuse, automation and AI,” said TMAS Secretary General Therese Premler-Andersson in conclusion.