Unspun Hires Ex‑North Face CEO Arne Arens to Scale Zero‑Waste 3D Weaving

Unspun, the San Francisco B Corp apparel-tech startup, named Arne Arens as Chief Executive Officer in an announcement published March 3, 2026. The hire pairs a seasoned brand executive with a proprietary manufacturing playbook the company says can shrink lead times and cut waste at scale.

Arens brings a pedigree in global outdoor and action-sports brands: he spent more than a decade at The North Face as Global Brand President and later served as CEO of Boardriders, leading that business through its sale to Authentic Brands Group for approximately $1.25 billion, company materials report. In a LinkedIn post quoted in media coverage, Arens wrote, "I am thrilled to announce that I am joining Unspun as CEO, to help the company redefine the global apparel supply chain toward zero waste and zero inventory."

The technology at the center of the hire is Vega, Unspun's branded 3D weaving platform. Sgbonline reports that Unspun describes Vega as able to "weave semi-finished products directly from yarn in minutes, dramatically shortening supply chains and reducing waste." Unspun's media release, as reproduced by Sgbonline, frames the wider problem this way: "Today, most apparel is produced 6– to 12-months before it reaches shelves, forcing brands and retailers to guess demand far in advance and absorb the cost of being wrong." The company claims its localized, automated model can improve gross margins by "400 to 500 bps through fewer markdowns and write-offs."

Commercial traction is already being pitched as proof of concept. Sgbonline names Walmart and Decathlon as retailers piloting Unspun's technology, while reporting notes and a separate summary identify made-to-order pants as a key product focus for the 3D weaving machines. An original summary provided to journalists adds that Unspun has raised "over $50M" to expand circular production, a figure the company has not otherwise detailed in all distributed materials.

Operational leadership around the technology remains close to its founders. Kevin Martin, identified by Sgbonline as co-founder and chief technology officer, praised Arens' experience, saying, "Arne is a proven industry leader who understands both brand building and the structural challenges of apparel supply chains. His leadership will help us accelerate deployment of our technology and partner with more brands and manufacturers looking for a smarter way to produce." NewsBreak coverage amplifies that message with a sharper commercial frame: Martin was quoted as arguing that "the financial rationale for adopting Unspun technology is even stronger than the decarbonization one," and that "You're getting the zero waste piece for free."

Unspun also strengthened governance late last year. PRNewswire and other briefings note that Chris Blakeslee, most recently President and CEO of Athleta, joined Unspun's board as the company's first independent board member in October 2025, a move positioned to add retail and operational expertise to the company's scaling plans.

Taken together, the hire signals Unspun's shift from prototype to scale. Arens himself framed the assignment in press materials as a structural mission: "Unspun's manufacturing model fundamentally transforms how and where products are made - unlocking meaningful financial benefits and significantly reducing the industry's carbon footprint. I am honored to lead Unspun at this pivotal moment and look forward to scaling our proven model into broad, lasting industry impact.