Twine aims to transform dyed thread and yarn supply chain

Investigating the development of a technology intended to revolutionise thread and yarn dyeing, and enable on-demand production.

Israel-based Twine Solutions was founded in 2015 by twins Erez and Alon Moshe to act as a synergy between innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Both of these men have decades of experience in the print and software industries and, as accomplished artists, creativity and colour have been a shared passion since they were children.

The company’s goal is to lead the digital transformation in the thread and textile industries to create better performance and greater sustainability. This has included the development of a proprietary thread-dyeing technology and ink and, according to a Twine spokesperson, transformation of the supply chain paradigm to on-demand manufacturing process which promises to result in ‘significant economic change and positive ecological impact’.

How it all began

Erez (top) and Alon Moshe

The ‘eureka’ moment started with a towel. When Erez saw a multi-coloured embroidery on his bath towel, he was struck with the thought “If only there was some kind of digital colouring technology – the embroiderer could simply stock white thread.” He and Alon proceeded to test the idea using generic inks and a crude thread-driving mechanism. They gave their mother – a highly experienced seamstress – the coloured thread with which to work, and she loved the idea of selecting her own custom thread colours.

In the meantime, Alon researched the fashion industry and realised that it was in desperate need of sustainable solutions for its supply chains. This understanding provided a huge incentive to develop an eco-friendly technology to address some of these issues. Erez and Alon arrived at the idea of developing a waterless ink/dye in a digital, on-demand process, modelling the idea on digital printing.

The use of digital print and colour is said to be an important chapter in the Israeli high-tech story, and many members of Twine’s expert team have gained experience and knowledge in this specialised field.

The workers

The company’s team is dedicated to bringing about much-needed change to the fashion and textile industries. Twine employs 100 members of staff who embrace 1,000 combined years of digital print/colour experience. These include a diverse team of experts who are passionate about colour, textiles and digital technology – among whom are five PhDs. Annually, no fewer than 30,000 hours are reportedly dedicated to the development of sustainable, eco-friendly designs and parts.

The ‘fibre’ of digital textile

Twine claims that it is ‘changing the game’ of the traditional, resource-intensive, thousand-year-old dyeing process. The company’s technology and solutions are being promoted as presenting a waterless, sustainable thread-dyeing system which can reduce the time to market and streamline stock management, while allowing for an unlimited colour palette.

Its digital thread/yarn-dyeing technology is said to meet the changing needs of the fast-paced fashion industry by enabling short dye runs, producing samples on-demand, reducing delivery time, increasing efficiency, reducing waste and minimising costs.

No water needed

Twine states that its zero water-use technology presents a sustainable, circular-production thread-dyeing system that addresses the serious water pollution and environmental issues that have been part of the dyeing industry for decades. The ‘TS-1800’ is said to be a fully waterless, digital thread and yarn dyeing system which suits a wide range of applications and allows manufacturers to expertly dye their own thread and yarn in order to free them from the traditional supply chain.

Twine’s TS-1800 is marketed as a fully waterless, digital system which allows manufacturers to dye their own thread and yarn

The company’s dyeing solution has a variety of product applications

With distributors in Asia (China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Taiwan), Europe (France, Italy, Portugal and Turkey) and the USA, the company’s target markets are organisations working within the stitching, knitting and embroidery sectors.

Twine is working with SATRA to explore opportunities for its dyed threads system to be used in the stitching of leather or synthetic footwear components, as well as for knitted shoe uppers. The company aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the use of thread in different areas of the shoe, in addition to learning more about how thread is combined with other materials in the shoe. such as the sole and adhesive. Twine is looking to help and inform the sector on the digital processes and tools that are now available.

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