The context
Garments are often produced in large volumes before actual demand is known, leaving a significant share unsold, discounted, returned or discarded. This fuels systemic overproduction across the textile and clothing industry. At the same time, long global supply chains generate extended lead times and heavy transport emissions, while demand is shifting faster and customers increasingly expect personalised products. The search for processes that can make products more quickly, in more customised formats, and with a lower footprint is precisely what led to the development of the microfactory concept.

The Digital Textile Micro Factory developed by the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research 
Among those working on this approach, the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research in Denkendorf began studying microfactory solutions more than a decade ago, initially focusing on flexible production systems that can respond quickly to changing demand. This research evolved into the Digital Textile Micro Factory (DTMF), a demonstrator of sustainable, digitally networked textile production, from design to finished product. By linking 3D simulation, digital twins and physical production, the DTMF connects virtual design directly with garment manufacturing. Presented at several trade fairs, including DRUPA  2024,¹ it shows how microfactory setups can save resources, reduce overproduction and returns, improve quality, enable complex product personalisation and support new business models.

From concept to business 
Around this concept, a number of start-ups and companies have begun building their business models, leveraging different microfactory setups to focus on onshore, on-demand garment production.
One example is the Danish company Rodinia Generation, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Copenhagen, where it runs its production unit and R&D laboratory. Rather than a fashion brand, Rodinia describes itself as a technology company at the intersection of software, hardware and apparel manufacturing. Its patented O-FACTORY® system automates the entire clothing production process. A single O-FACTORY® setup occupies around 200 square metres, can produce thousands of unique garments per day, and can deliver in as little as 48 hours from order, while covering most clothing categories. By making only what actually sells and producing close to the consumer, Rodinia reports meaningful reductions in CO₂ and water per garment. It frames its mission as ending overproduction through a global network of automated, on-demand, low-impact factories.
A second example is the German start-up OMIMAI, established in 2025 and based in Amt Wachsenburg (Thuringia). The core of OMIMAI is the freedom to configure made-to-measure garments of various types, produced in Germany from high-quality, sustainable fabrics, at accessible prices. The company offers a self-tailored decentralised on-demand apparel manufacturing system, that leads clients to the design and hyper-local production of custom-made apparel, enabling economically viable manufacturing from lot size one onward. This keeps production close and personal to the customer, shortens transport routes and avoids waste, while giving customers a genuinely tailored product rather than off-the-rack standard sizing. The approach combines localised and networked production, digital design workflows, and industrial manufacturing standards to support both B2C and B2B applications. Production processes are developed with consideration for sustainability, circularity, and technological integration.

Digitalisation in support of sustainability
These setups and business models directly address the main sustainability pain points in garment production: long supply chains, overproduction, and inefficient processes. The shift to regional, on-demand and made-to-measure manufacturing is where digitalisation pays off most clearly, and several studies point to substantial environmental gains. The ECO-Shoring project, funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and carried out by Assyst and the DITF, is a useful reference. Combining nearshoring, made-to-measure and on-demand production in regional networks — supported by digital avatars, virtual fitting and fully digital production processes — the consortium estimates that the carbon footprint of clothing could be cut by up to 98% compared with fast fashion, primarily through green electricity, reduced overproduction and longer garment use.

From "design, make, sell" to "design, sell, make"
The deeper change these models introduce is one of sequence. The conventional industry works on a design–make–sell logic, producing first and hoping to sell later. The microfactory model inverts it into a design–sell–make model: the garment is designed and sold, and is made only then. Whereas this model seems not suited to bulk volumes and the mass market, it adds real value in customisation and premium production. By integrating digital design directly with the digital production process, it becomes possible to produce in short lead times and in virtually unlimited formats, turning personalisation into a viable, scalable proposition rather than a costly exception.
The model is continuously evolving. The most compelling direction is the move towards a network of microfactories: distributed, locally rooted production cells that together can serve the market while keeping manufacturing close to the customer. Recent initiatives on on-demand production point in the same direction, including the first projects financed by the EU “Textiles of the Future” Partnership, focused on digitally enabled local-for-local textile and apparel production.

Conclusions
Microfactory setups and business models are increasingly appealing. Along with environmental benefits, these business models create growth opportunities by leveraging customisation, speed, and proximity. As digital design and digital production continue to converge, microfactories offer a path towards a textile industry that produces less waste, fewer emissions and more of what people actually want. 

^{1 DRUPA is major international trade fair for the printing, packaging production, graphic arts, and print technology industries organized by Messe Düsseldorf in Germany- www.drupa.com}