Welcome to New Industrial Order laboratory. Our lab is set up to develop and test design, manufacturing, delivery, re-use and recycling in the on demand manufacturing system.
Virtual knitwear
Digital design saves energy and materials. The N.I.O. Knitwear Development Process aims to use virtual knitwear to
bring forth the highest quality 3D knitwear
save energy, materials and knit programming time
and reduce the number of physical samples made in the design phase
while providing ample space for experimentation in the creative process.
High quality visualizations of virtual knitwear help to optimize the collaboration between designers, product developers, knitwear labs and knitting manufacturers.
How does production on demand change business models? What opportunies arise and what stands in the way of reaping the benefits?
On Demand Business
Closing the knitwear loop
The N.I.O. knitwear supply chain is focused on waste prevention. The goal is to enable fast replenishment—restocking missing sizes and colors within one week to eliminate overstock and reduce returns between brands and stores.
The approach integrates a deposit system with product tracking that follows garments throughout their entire lifecycle, from initial ordering to post-consumer phase. Central to this vision is incorporating post-consumer recycled yarn into the supply chain, creating a truly circular system where nothing goes to waste.
Personal knitwear
How to produce a great fitting garment for a unique individual? The N.I.O. Digital Tailoring System is being development specifically for knitted garments. A comment we often hear is ‘Knitwear doesn’t need to fit that well because it stretches!’. In our experience, ill-fitting knitwear (sleeves to short, bottom exposed when bending down, neck to narrow, etc) can be a mayor source of frustration and a reason to never wear such an item. Most people prefer a made-to-measure garment once they have had the privilege to try it. At New Industrial Order we believe that progress is inevitable, in every aspect of humanity, and that the quality standards set by tailoring and couture will some day be available for everybody. Why not start now?
And what is the role of designers when the consumer influences the production process? We test interaction, co-creation and play with curated design options to find out what consumers wish to personalize and how they want to be guided by designers.
Remote sizing and virtual fitting
The value of the good old measuring tape is undisputed, but the new era asks for more sophisticated ways to extract body measurements from a person. Clever people and innovative companies around the world are working on this topic. New Industrial Order reaches out to researchers and startups everywhere to find the best solutions for remote sizing. There are many ways: from 3D scanning in a scan booth to algorithms calculating your body dimensions based on a picture you take with your smartphone. Based on this information, brands can send the right size to a consumer, or produce a made-to-measure garment.
The next challenge is to create a realtime virtual fitting process that helps consumers find the size and fit they want, acknowledging that there not only the dressmakers’ idea of a perfect fit should be considered, but also a person’s ‘emotional fit’.
On Demand Order System
How to produce knitwear from 1 piece quantity on a large scale? How to identify every unique piece throughout the supply chain? The On Demand Order System (ODOS®) combines knit programming, tracing and manufacturing.
Knit manufacturing
Knitting is the most promising technology for the future of sustainable textiles and this is no secret to the knitting industry itself. A number of large innovative companies already provide knitting machines that can truly function as ‘knit robots’ in an on-demand supply chain. Knitwear manufacturers around the world are investing in these machines. The main barrier to providing knitwear from 1 piece is the lack of infrastructure to make production on demand cost-efficient enough to fit into the manufacturing business model.
New Industrial Order collaborates on on-demand knitting with some of the most knowledgeable manufacturers of knitwear in Europe.
Publications
Hester, M. L., van der Velden, N. M., & Vogtländer, J. G. (2026). On-Demand Knitting and Recycling: An LCA Study Investigating an Integrated Solution for Sustainable Woollen Jumpers. Textiles, 6(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles6010019
Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/6/1/19
PDF: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/6/1/19/pdfRazipour, M. Integrating Recycled Woollen Yarn in Knitting Seamless Pullover. Master thesis. Saxion University of Applied Sciences, 2024.
Yeromina, T. Reliability of Digital Draping of Fully Fashioned Knit. Master thesis. Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, 2024.
Hester, M.L. The Environmental Impact of a Transition to On-Demand Knitwear. Master thesis. Saxion University of Applied Sciences, 2020-2021.
Smit, W. On-demand production of 3D printed knitwear – an alternative model for the textiles industry. Master thesis. Erasmus University - School of Management, 2021.
Projects
Closing the Knitwear Loop (2): On demand manufacturing and retail. Research collaboration. Consortium partners: Het Faire Oosten, Retail Twin Labs, Knit-It, NITTO.Amsterdam. RvO Circulaire Keten Projecten, 2025/26 (ongoing).
Hester, M.L. A comparative LCA study of Knitted Wool Jumpers Produced On-Demand in the Netherlands. Project Report. RvO Circulaire Keten Projecten, 2024.
Closing the Knitwear Loop (1): Design and recycling workflow for circular knitwear on demand. Research collaboration. Consortium partners: Knit-It, Marije Lytske Hester, StCreative, Favourite Forms. RvO Circulaire Keten Projecten, 2023/24.
KNIT1: Data-driven ERP app for fast, flexible, no waste knit production at SME manufacturers in EU. Research project. SoTecIn Factory, 2024.
Practically Parametric. Research collaboration. The Girl and the Machine, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Fieldlab 3D Knit, Amsterdam Fashion Institute. Creative Industries Fund NL, 2022.
3D Knitwear on Demand: Building blocks of Knitcode. Research collaboration. The Girl and the Machine, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Fieldlab 3D Knit, Amsterdam Fashion Institute. ClickNL, 2021
Virtual fitting of personal knitwear. Research collaboration, Shavatar (formerly known as Shasize), The Girl and the Machine. Worth Partnership Project, 2018.
NITTO.Amsterdam: no waste knitwear. Test brand for micro batch knitwear production in season. In selected stores in The Netherlands since 2018.
The Girl and the Machine: Personal Knitwear. Demonstrator project. Presented at Dutch Design Week, produced at Parrillu’s. Crowdfunded through Oneplanetcrowd, 2016.