Industry Challenge

Digital manufacturing is becoming increasingly important to the competitiveness and resilience of the U.S. Clothing and Textile (C&T) industrial base. However, the solution is not simply to adopt more technology. Manufacturers must determine which capabilities are relevant to their operations, how new tools can work with existing processes and systems, and where investments in data, connectivity, automation, and digital workflows can deliver meaningful value.

Across the textile supply chain, manufacturers continue to face common challenges:

• High implementation costs and technical complexity
• Limited standardization and interoperability between systems
• Fragmented data, records, and workflows
• Challenges navigating cybersecurity and compliance requirements
• Limited resources and expertise to evaluate and implement new technologies

Addressing these barriers is essential to improving manufacturing efficiency, accelerating innovation, and strengthening the domestic industrial base.

Objective

Led by Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), this initiative aims to assess the current state of digital manufacturing across the U.S. Clothing and Textile (C&T) industrial base and identify opportunities to strengthen its digital capabilities.

The effort examines digital manufacturing across the textile supply chain, from yarn and material production through end-item manufacturing, including the systems, data, records, and handoffs that connect these activities.

Through engagement with manufacturers and industry experts, AFFOA has worked to:

• Assess existing digital technologies, tools, and manufacturing workflows
• Identify common challenges, technology gaps, and opportunities for improvement
• Evaluate connectivity and interoperability across manufacturing systems
• Examine relevant approaches from adjacent manufacturing industries
• Identify where digital capabilities can deliver the greatest improvements in cost, quality, efficiency, and scalability

As a Manufacturing USA Institute, AFFOA brings together manufacturers, material and technology suppliers, researchers, government partners, and solution providers across the textile manufacturing ecosystem. This perspective helps ensure that recommended solutions reflect the diverse operational needs of domestic manufacturers.

Outputs: The industry assessment informs two complementary outputs: a publicly available Digital Manufacturing Playbook to support practical technology adoption, and a five-year Digital Manufacturing Roadmap to inform longer-term strategic planning.

Digital Manufacturing Playbook | Now Available

A practical resource to help C&T manufacturers evaluate digital technologies, prioritize operational improvements, and make informed adoption decisions.

The Playbook provides:

• Digital Technology Landscape: Available digital manufacturing capabilities and their applications across textile production
• Business Value and Use Cases: Operational challenges these technologies can help address
• Adoption Considerations: Guidance for evaluating tools, existing systems, and organizational readiness
• Practical Implementation Framework: An approach for prioritizing opportunities, demonstrating value, and scaling successful solutions

Digital Manufacturing Roadmap | In Development 

Building on the industry assessment and Playbook, AFFOA is also developing a five-year Digital Manufacturing Roadmap to inform longer-term strategic planning and industry transformation.

The Roadmap will identify priority capability gaps, technology development opportunities, strategic initiatives, and potential investment areas to strengthen digital manufacturing across the domestic C&T industrial base.

Expected Industry Benefits

Together, the Playbook and Roadmap support both near-term technology adoption and long-term advancement of the U.S. C&T industrial base.