US-founded and B Corp certified apparel technology company Unspun has appointed former The North Face and Boardriders executive Arne Arens as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The company wants to accelerate the transition from offshore overproduction to manufacturing in the USA.
Arens has decades of experience leading global apparel brands. He will lead Unspun’s next phase of growth as the company expands its automated, localized manufacturing infrastructure for the apparel industry.
He worked at outdoor brand The North Face for more than a decade. There he served as Global Brand President and led the company through a period of significant global growth. He then became CEO of Boardriders, the global action sports and lifestyle company behind Quiksilver, Billabong and Roxy. He managed the business until it was taken over by Authentic Brands Group.
In a statement about his new role, Arens said: “I have spent much of my career at some of the world’s leading apparel and footwear brands, experiencing first-hand the economic and environmental costs of excessive lead times and chronic overproduction in the traditional supply chain.”
“Unspun’s manufacturing model is fundamentally changing how and where products are made. It unlocks significant financial benefits and significantly reduces the industry’s carbon footprint. I am honored to lead Unspun at this pivotal moment and look forward to scaling our proven model to create broad and sustainable impact in the industry.”
The fashion industry is facing increasing volatility, tariffs and pressure to reduce excess inventory and its environmental impact. Against this background, the technology innovator from California positions manufacturing as modern infrastructure. This makes it possible to produce clothing faster, more in line with needs and with less waste.
The company believes that apparel production can be accomplished through automated, localized manufacturing. Clothing is currently produced for six to twelve months before it hits the stores. Software and hardware-controlled systems are used, such as the company’s own 3D web technology ‘Vega’. This technology weaves semi-finished products directly from the yarn in just a few minutes. This allows garments to be produced closer to demand, replacing long, outsourced production cycles.
This speed-based model reduces inventory risk, reduces overproduction and the carbon footprint of the supply chain. It can also improve gross margins by 400 to 500 basis points through fewer markdowns and write-offs, the company said. Unspun’s technology is currently being tested at global retailers such as Walmart and Decathlon.
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