Seamless Knitted Mesh Cold Weather Drawers

Cold weather baseylayers are crucial to protecting warfighters from cold injury. They are currently produced using labor intensive cut and sew methods with multiple production steps, making Berry compliance challenging.  With advances in computing and robotics, whole garment knitting equipment is now available that produces customizable garments that are more comfortable, more durable, require less labor, reduce manufacturing costs, and produce less textile waste.  The US garment manufacturing industry has struggled because it is traditionally a labor-intensive industry and labor costs are far lower in many other countries. However, seamless knitting machines flip the script.  Instead, this manufacturing process is no longer dependent on low-skill labor (a US weakness) and instead depends on high tech labor and low energy costs (both are US strengths).  Despite growing use in Asia and obvious benefits for US manufacturers, there are few US based whole garment knitting businesses. TDA and our partners at the NC State College of textiles will leverage our teams’ expertise in garment design, prototype development, and fabric testing to develop seamlessly knit mesh baselayers and develop the supply chain necessary to manufacture them domestically.