Supply Chain Showdown

Right now, the fashion industry is tariff-ied. In search of ways to navigate the current trade-war, there’s a lot of talk going around about localization, reshoring, nearshoring, and offshoring. 

So, what’s this all about?

Supply chain strategy. All of these concepts aim to tackle supply chain disruptions in product manufacturing. From pandemic fallout to port delays to new environmental regulations, disruptions keep hitting. The fashion industry is under pressure to build smarter, more resilient supply chains that can weather global shocks and meet growing demands for transparency, speed, and sustainability.

What’s a supply chain? 

For those that don’t know, a supply chain is a network of logistics and facilities that turn raw materials into finished goods ready for the consumer.

Right now, a typical supply chain looks something like this:

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Four buzzwords, one goal: supply chain resilience. 

In response to rising costs, trade tensions, and global instability, fashion brands are rethinking their supply chain playbook. The goal? To reduce risk, gain control, and stay competitive. As a result, terms like localization, reshoring, nearshoring, and offshoring aren’t just strategy-speak—they’re urgent decisions. 

Each approach represents a different way of organizing production—geographically and strategically. But they’re all being revisited right now as brands scramble to future-proof their operations. Let’s dive in.

The Status Quo: Offshoring

A lot of supply chains are offshore. 

Offshoring involves sourcing materials or manufacturing goods in another country, or several countries –often to locations with lower labor costs or to access specific skills. 

Delays, rising costs, labor shortages, and geopolitical tensions are disrupting international supply chains. Add climate impact and shifting regulations to the mix, and supply chain resilience has become incredibly critical. 

In 2023, a major drought across Europe led to low water levels in the Rhine River, an important shipping route in Germany. This meant imposed surcharges, rerouting, and cutting ship cargo to reduce weight. Reporting on The State of Fashion 2024, The Business of Fashion reported that in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, “55% of apparel and footwear manufacturing sites could be exposed to rising sea levels and flooding by 2030.” As time ticks on, the fashion industry is scrambling to find new ways to navigate increasing climate events like these, while mitigating impact in order to prevent such events.

Complicated supply chains also spell out trouble for companies’ inventory planning due to ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Since orders often have to be placed well in advance, it’s hard to pin down a winning merchandising strategy. In the wake of the 2025 tariff-off, The Business of Fashion declared: “The fashion industry is walking a tightrope when it comes to inventory as Trump’s trade policy and uncertainty about US consumer demand scramble the formulas retailers use to determine what to order, how much, and when it should arrive in warehouses and stores.” 

Businesses tread a fine line — underestimating demand means missed revenue, while overstocking eats away at profits, tying them up in excess inventory. Yet again, the industry finds itself stuck in a loop of unpredictability with supply and demand. Adding insult to injury, overstock often ends up contributing to fashion’s waste problem, furthering the cause-and-effect cycle of climate impact and supply chain disruptions. 

To make matters more dire, ethical crises associated with many large-scale international operations mean transparency and accountability matter more than ever. In 2013, the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh famously and devastatingly collapsed, killing 1,134 people and injuring 2,500 (The Guardian). The collapse highlighted the deplorable conditions in many garment factories. As global, multilayered supply chains grow more complex, brands chase speed and profit by pressuring suppliers with low prices, tight deadlines, and constant threats of replacement — often at the cost of worker welfare and transparency. 

Something has to give. McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2025 report asserted: 

“Leaders who move quickly to identify the bright spots, whether they are geographic, demographic, or technological, will be primed for success, but only if they’re able to evolve. The old playbook is now obsolete; the industry will need a new formula for differentiation and growth.”

So, what are some alternatives? Here are some key strategies companies can implement to stabilize their supply chains.

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Localization

Localization generally means sourcing materials or manufacturing goods within the same specific geographic area they will be distributed, rather than relying on a global network. 

You can localize by onshoring or nearshoring.

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Reshoring –or Onshoring

Reshoring involves shifting production from overseas manufacturing to the domestic market. 

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Nearshoring

Nearshoring shifts production from an overseas network to a neighboring or nearby geographic area, usually within the same region or continent.

Here’s how the different factors stack up.

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Refashioning the Status Quo

What do you think of these strategies?

At unspun™, we love an efficient supply chain. Whatever your business needs are, a more localized supply strategy can mean faster turnaround times, reduced environmental impact, and more resilient operations. 

Nearshoring and onshoring bring production closer to the point of demand, empower local economies, and reduce overreliance on global logistics and policy. But, how can the industry make supply chain shifts without major sacrifices? What will it take to stabilize the future of fashion?

We see the future of supply and demand in 3D. 3D weaving, that is. 

3D weaving technology is a new, condensed process for making clothes, where fabric preparation and clothing assembly are combined into one step. And we’ve invented a way to do it. Our Vega™ 3D weaving machines make woven clothing production more cost effective and use less energy compared to conventional apparel manufacturing.

Vega™ 3D weaving machines simultaneously prepare fabric and assemble pieces of clothing. Their manufacturing happens in two steps: weaving yarn into tubes of fabric that are pieces of clothing, and attaching those pieces and trims. These two steps require significantly fewer machines than traditional manufacturing. Our Vega™ machines are housed in a single, space-efficient production hub run by one manufacturer or brand. Workers employed to support Vega™ manufacturing can be hired closer to the area of demand, creating more operational oversight and eliminating the pressure to compromise safety for efficiency. 

In short, creating more agile, closer-to-home supply chains with condensed production hubs (we call them microfactories) mitigates risks and allows brands to respond to market shifts in real-time. 3D weaving makes this approach viable at scale. 

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Right-Shoring

Lastly, let’s chat about right-shoring!

Right-shoring involves locating operations to regions that best combine cost, efficiency, and quality –regardless of whether they are domestic or international, and is often a combination thereof. 

It's a more nuanced approach to localization, aiming to optimize the site of different supply chain functions to maximize overall profitability, efficiency, and transparency. At the end of the day, it's all about creating smarter, more sustainable systems. And we’re here to help make that shift seamless –literally.

Vega™ makes nearshore or onshore production financially feasible without sacrificing market competitiveness, and while maintaining just-in-time fulfillment capabilities.

This is our vision for the future: a Vega™ supply chain. 

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Let’s make localization global. 

Schedule a time to chat or a virtual demo. We’re happy to discuss our pipeline, share machine performance data, or walk you through our upcoming plans.

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