Holistic Design for the Future of Textiles
Advancing high performance BRAIDED patterned material and its efficient, low environmental impact method of manufacture for the fashion and textile industry.
Explain briefly where your idea currently sits? (e g non-profit, NGO, community group, startup, corporate entity, social enterprise or an individual with a great idea)
Brad Jamison, founder of TEF Braids and Tensengral, has independently advanced programmable braiding and yarn patterning technology. He is currently the only person in the world using historic lace-making machines to create multi dimensional textile forms and apparel. Operating out of his micro-factory in New York, USA, Jamison produces goods for the local community and online sales under the Tensengral brand. TEF Braids serves as the manufacturing and innovation arm of Jamison's work. Jamison holds two patents for his textile patterning and footwear development innovations and continues to push the boundaries of textile design and production with novel yarn patterning and responsible manufacturing processes.
What planet and social aspects could the idea have an impact on?
Our zero-waste, yarn-to product process will reduce waste and resource consumption compared to traditional cut and sew techniques, which would lower the fashion industry's carbon footprint. Our technology enables on-demand production, as an alternative to mass manufacturing's overproduction and attendant transportation-related waste and environmental impact.
Indication of idea readiness stage (please describe how far this idea has come in development)
We are in a period of growth. We have independently developed and tested products and processes that balance innovative production, novel materials and sustainability. By collaborating with academic and business partners, we can refine product designs, validate performance metrics, and scale these technologies--driving sustainability across fashion categories and textile industries.
How can this idea contribute to area of transformation?
Our engineered fabrics and processes exemplify the balance between technology, sustainability, and design. We use less material and less energy in manufacturing 3D garments built for function, longevity, and circularity. Our "Patterned Material-Driven Design" (PMDD) approach to building garments, emphasizes the inherent behaviors, performance properties, and aesthetics of patterned BRAIDED yarn networks that are both the fabric and the form. Our zero-waste manufacturing enables the simultaneous creation of textile and form, where the interlacing of yarns generates apparel that adapts to real time forces and performance needs using only the dynamics of filaments within an integrated and unified structure.
What is your connection to the problem you are trying to solve?
We are deeply connected to the problem of waste and inefficiency in traditional garment production. The fashion industry often relies on excessive materials, cuts, and labor to achieve desired performance, leading to significant waste and environmental harm. By rethinking how we view fabrics and garments—not as 2D pieces to be sewn together, but as dynamic integrated systems —we create textiles with few biodegradable materials performing for the wearer's comfort, security, and sense of social responsibility.
Please describe the solution's most recent significant breakthrough or achievement.
The linking and interlacing arrangement yarns is key to determining a fabric’s structure and performance. We've recently designed a sports bra based on the "Flower of Life", a symbol of sacred geometry representin interconnectedness. Built as a 3D textile the linked and interlaced network of this pattern provides dynamic support without limiting or restricting movement. This "multimorphic" geometric approach to product design produces textiles that perform naturally with fewer ingredients and less complexity. This "Flower of Life" fabric is a step toward developing fabrics that mirror living organisms and an example of "Patterned Material-Process-Driven" design.
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Describe the impact the solution will have for the textile industry over the next 3 years.
We track material savings, production efficiency, waste reduction, and
energy consumption to demonstrate our method’s advantages over
traditional manufacturing systems. Our technology reframes perspectives
and practices for the industry by leveraging yarn geometry for
structural textile development with biomimicry principles—creating
fabrics that serve multiple functions without reliance on excessive
materials or energy. -
How can your experience/capacities/skills, academic and/or professional background support you when developing your idea ahead?
We are the only ones advancing programmable BRAIDING technology to create entirely new textile structures. Despite no formal background, we've developed a full-circle system to produce innovative patented textiles and new fabric types produced with a novel method of manufacture.
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Which aspect of newness does this idea bring to have a positive impact on the textile industry?
Our simultaneous yarn-to-product approach to BRAIDED yarn networks demonstrates the potential of 3D textile forms with diverse characteristics for enhanced performance using significantly fewer resources and virtually eliminating waste.
How do you foresee the measuring the impact of your idea? Which metrics are applicable to the impact you are aiming to achieve?
We track material savings, production efficiency, waste reduction, and energy consumption to demonstrate our method’s advantages over traditional manufacturing systems. Ourtechnology reframes perspectives and practices for the industry by leveraging yarn geometry for structural textile development with biomimicry principles creating fabrics that serve multiple functions without reliance on excessive materials or energy.
Can the idea be applied in other geographical contexts?
Our technology can revitalize existing factories worldwide that are using Jacquard circular lace braiding machines to produce decorative fabrics like lace, trims, and cords, by using them as a tool for efficiently creating functional fabric forms for a myriad of textile applications.
Why should you and your idea win the Global Change Award?
Braided patterned material as structural, fluid textile forms have enormous unexplored implications for many textile categories. Already we are incorporating this technology to build performance into fabrics to minimize product finishing, materials, and waste. Our technology makes possible on-demand manufacturing, a viable solution to overproduction and pollution. Our innovations have been applied in interior design and footwear projects and are being investigated for used in the medical and automotive sectors. A Global Change Award and participation in the Changemaker programme would support advancement of our materials and manufacturing for fashion and textiles and facilitate the connections and collaborations fundamental to realizing their value for the industry, consumers and the environment.
