Eton Systems – a member of TMAS, the Swedish Textile Machinery Association – is taking part in the current Microfactories System Innovation project which is working on the development of a fully automated workflow for secondhand garments.
Eton is contributing its well-proven transport system for material handling to the project, which also involves specialists at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, the Automation Region innovation cluster at Mälardalen University and the national collaboration platform iHubs Sweden.
According to ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report, the value of the global second-hand apparel market is already worth an annual $256 billion this year and growing at 10% annually to reach a value of $367 billion by 2029.
Additionally, the online resale segment alone is forecast to double over the next five years to around $40 billion reflecting higher growth of 17%.
As part of the project, a test facility is being established at Science Park Borås involving garments being placed on custom product carriers within an Eton Systems conveyor system and transported through a series of stations.
The garments are inspected using a vision system, after which AI is employed to categorize them based on parameters such as manufacturer, model and size. Any damage is analyzed and the system also provides recommendations for possible repairs.
“The collected information is fed into a calculation model that, based on market data, makes suggestions for a sales price, explained Jan Molin, CEO of Eton Systems. “Finally, the garment is photographed for marketing and then transported to a warehouse awaiting sale.”
The Microfactories System Innovation project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, Region Västra Götaland and Region Västmanland.
