The pace of innovation in the fashion industry is accelerating, and SHEIN is leading the way with new solutions for today’s manufacturing challenges. SHEIN continues to transform the fashion industry landscape with its groundbreaking approach to manufacturing innovation. The global online fashion retailer recently hosted its second Tools Day event, showcasing over 60 cutting-edge sewing and garment production tools designed to revolutionize how fashion is made.
- Addressing Industry’s Biggest Manufacturing Challenges
- Game-Changing Solutions for Delicate Materials
- Real-World Impact Through Collaborative Development
- Impressive Scale of Innovation
- Building Supplier Capabilities Beyond Tools
- Strategic Partnerships Driving Industry Transformation
- Shaping the Future of Fashion Manufacturing
Addressing Industry’s Biggest Manufacturing Challenges
Held at SHEIN’s Centre for Innovation in Garment Manufacturing (CIGM), the event revealed how targeted technological solutions can overcome traditional barriers in fashion production. Through live demonstrations and virtual tours, suppliers witnessed firsthand how these innovations are reducing production time, improving quality, and solving complex manufacturing challenges.
One of the most significant breakthroughs tackles a longstanding industry problem: working with embellished fabrics. Sewing sequinned, beaded, and rhinestone-decorated materials has traditionally been one of the apparel industry’s most difficult challenges, often causing small and medium-sized manufacturers to avoid producing formal wear and wedding dresses altogether.
Game-Changing Solutions for Delicate Materials
SHEIN’s engineering team introduced two complementary tools that are changing how intricate fabrics are manufactured:
1. The Beaded Embroidery Seam Presser Foot gently moves beads aside, allowing needles to glide seamlessly between embellishments without getting stuck or breaking.
2. The Bead Breaking Attachment combines automated bead removal with a mechanism that blows away crushed fragments, eliminating the need for manual crushing with hammers or pliers.
These innovations have dramatically reduced the skill level required for complex garment construction while preserving intricate designs and preventing fabric damage. Since their 2024 launch, over 900 units have been deployed across supplier factories within SHEIN’s network.
Real-World Impact Through Collaborative Development
The 2025 Tools Day event also introduced seven new innovations targeting previously overlooked but technically complex processes.
Tools like the Adjustable Flatbed Webbing Puller, Four-Thread Overlock Lace Tape Presser Foot, and Flatbed Pearl & Diamond Tape Puller automate alignment and feeding processes, improving garment finishing while streamlining labor-intensive procedures.
What separates SHEIN’s approach is its collaborative development method. Each tool is co-created with suppliers based on real pain points they encounter and validated in actual factory settings before wider deployment.
Wang Feng, Supplier: “In the past, when we encountered styles with complex processes, we were often at a loss because there were no suitable solutions available on the market. Now, whenever we face a technical issue, SHEIN’s professional team responds immediately. They tailor tools for us, provide step-by-step instructional videos, and even send engineers to our factory to ensure the problem is truly solved,” said.
Impressive Scale of Innovation
Since launching the CIGM in 2023, SHEIN has designed over 170 individual tools, providing nearly 6,000 units to suppliers. These tools, available to suppliers for a fee, have helped reduce manual labor time by up to 80% at specific production stages where they’re used.
Building Supplier Capabilities Beyond Tools
In 2024, the CIGM delivered 69 vocational training sessions to over 1,200 participants across more than 1,000 suppliers, covering garment production technology, business operations, and organizational processes. Additionally, 97 technical certification courses enabled more than 1,750 participants to gain quality inspection, assurance, and national vocational skill certifications.
Strategic Partnerships Driving Industry Transformation
Looking forward, SHEIN is deepening its investment in industry collaboration through strategic partnerships. In the first half of 2025, partnerships with Donghua University and Transfar Chemicals were created to advance textile innovation. The collaboration with Donghua University focuses on developing recycled polyester solutions that accept wider material ranges while maintaining recyclability. Meanwhile, the Transfar Chemicals partnership established a joint laboratory advancing new dyeing processes and functional fabrics.
Shaping the Future of Fashion Manufacturing
Through its Tools Day initiative and broader innovation ecosystem, SHEIN continues to show how technology can solve age-old manufacturing challenges while empowering suppliers to meet evolving industry demands with greater agility, precision, and quality.
