Cutting waste at the source: How ZERØTEC is tackling fashion’s fabric waste problem
Fabric waste is one of the fashion industry’s biggest hidden challenges. Every year, billions of metres of unused material are discarded during manufacturing, long before garments reach shop floors. For ZERØTEC, a sustainability-driven software company, solving this problem is both an environmental mission and a growing commercial opportunity.
Since joining the University of Hertfordshire’s Sustainability Accelerator in 2022, ZERØTEC has developed an early-stage idea into an emerging technology business with global ambitions. Through enterprise support, business incubation and student collaboration, Herts has played a key role in helping the company scale its impact.
Addressing a global waste problem
Across global fashion manufacturing, a significant share of fabric is wasted during the cutting process. This waste occurs before garments are even assembled, representing a significant environmental cost and an enormous financial loss for manufacturers. With fashion brands under increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint, improving material efficiency within manufacturing processes is becoming essential. However, traditional design and cutting processes leave little room for optimisation. ZERØTEC was founded to address this challenge.
An AI-driven approach to smarter manufacturing
ZERØTEC developed a pattern design and nesting software tool that helps designers and manufacturers significantly reduce material waste. The software integrates computer-aided design and manufacturing processes and uses AI to optimise how patterns are arranged and cut from fabric.
The platform acts as an intelligent support tool, analysing vast combinations of pattern layouts to identify opportunities that would be difficult for humans or traditional systems to calculate. This approach enables manufacturers to reduce material usage by around 15% per garment. That equates to saving approximately £1.70 in material costs and reducing around 2kg of carbon emissions for every garment produced.
Support from the University of Hertfordshire
ZERØTEC first connected with Herts through the Sustainability Accelerator, which provides early-stage businesses with tailored support packages worth up to £25,000 to develop sustainable solutions. Through the programme, ZERØTEC progressed its technology towards a market-ready solution. ZERØTEC later joined the University’s 12-month incubator programme and benefited from the Enterprise Hub, the University’s on-campus business incubation centre supporting start-ups and scale-ups, gaining access to workspace, facilities, a wider business community and expert support to help accelerate growth.
During this time, ZERØTEC has worked with students from the School of Creative Arts on a range of projects. Students supported the business by developing press releases, shaping social media strategies and helping to organise events. Two students who initially collaborated with the company through these projects have since joined ZERØTEC as permanent team members. Devansh and Nathaniel transitioned into full-time roles after demonstrating strong skills and professionalism through their earlier partnerships with the University.
Rapid growth and industry momentum
Since its early days in the accelerator programme, ZERØTEC has experienced significant growth. The company received its first publicly funded grant in 2023 and has since expanded its team to eight people. Its technology has already attracted strong industry interest, with more than 300 users adopting the platform to date. The company has also secured £600,000 in investment to support its next stage of growth. While the platform was originally developed for fashion manufacturing, ZERØTEC is now exploring applications in other industries where material efficiency is critical, including automotive and aerospace manufacturing.
Looking ahead
ZERØTEC’s ambition is clear: to help transform manufacturing by reducing waste at scale. As the business continues to grow, its relationship with Herts remains an important foundation in its journey, having supported its development to date. With demand for sustainable solutions increasing across industries, ZERØTEC is well positioned to play a leading role in shaping a more efficient and environmentally responsible future for manufacturing.