Missouri factory sparking a supply chain revolution, helping companies meet customer demand in fast-evolving fashion industry

St. Louis, Mo. – Evolution St. Louis — the most technologically advanced flatbed knitting facility in the United States — is re-energizing domestic knit manufacturing. Throughout the pandemic, the Missouri-based company has helped American fashion brands and retailers bring production back to the United States.

“The dynamic shift in consumer buying patterns and long lead times associated with offshore manufacturing were already leading brands toward domestic manufacturing. The supply chain issues fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year have accelerated those decisions,” said John Elmuccio, co-founder of Evolution St. Louis. “By creating more responsive supply chains and locating production in the United States with companies like Evolution St. Louis, brands and retailers have a better opportunity to react to demand in a world forever changed by the pandemic.”

Prior to COVID-19, over 95% of clothes sold in the United States were imported from overseas. The pandemic disrupted production and shipping overseas, with billions of dollars of clothing orders canceled and countless brick-and-mortar stores closed in the past 12 months.

“There are so many risks and barriers with foreign manufacturing. We’ve seen huge delays and fashion manufacturing companies overseas simply going under and never shipping the product as promised,” said Timo Weiland, co-founder and creative director of the Timo Weiland brand. “By working with Evolution St. Louis, we’re able to keep a closer watch on our products and the process — from start to finish. They’re nimble and collaborative, and our partnership with Evolution St. Louis allows us to react to real-time consumer demand.”

Evolution St. Louis’ industry-leading flatbed knitting machines can produce whole garments, knit-to-shape, fully fashioned knits and complex shapes, as well as footwear, smart and technical textiles. The company also offers full-package services, including raw material sourcing, merchandising, technical design and product engineering. Linking, sewing, finishing, and on-site inventory, logistics, packing and shipping are available.

“The fashion industry as a whole has been hard hit by the pandemic, but businesses with domestic partners have fared better,” said Jon Lewis, co-founder of Evolution St. Louis. “We’re disrupting the fashion industry by using the latest technologies to help contemporary, designer and luxury brands control their intellectual properties and better manage inventories.”

Evolution St. Louis’ technology serves a variety of industries including apparel and footwear, automotive, lifestyle, sports, health and wellness, medical, and police and fire, creating products for Fortune 500 companies, major brands, boutique designers and direct-to-consumer entrepreneurs.