Fashion Industry

Fashion is a lot more than providing an answer to primary needs. It is a way of communication, of distinction, of proclaiming a unique taste and expressing the belonging to a group. Sometimes to an exclusive group. Currently, the fashion industry is moving towards hyperspace, to a multidimensional world that is springing from the integration of smart textiles and wearable technologies. It is far beyond aesthetics. New properties of smart textiles let designers experiment with astonishing forms and expressions. There are also surprising contrasts and challenges: a new life for natural fibers, sustainable fabrics and dyeing techniques, rediscovered by eco-fashion, and "artificial apparel," made of wearable electronic components. How is this revolution affecting the strategies of the fashion industry

Incidencia de la gestión de almacén en el control de inventario del sector comercial. Revisión sistemática de la literatura

La investigación denominada el efecto mediador de la gestión de almacén con el control de inventario, desarrollada desde la perspectiva de revisión sistemática y posterior metaanálisis de artículos científicos indizados en repositorios reconocidos de la ciencia. El estudio tuvo por finalidad responder al planteamiento de la conjetura que fue demostrar si las empresas que aplican una buena gestión de almacenes incrementan significativamente el control en sus inventarios, se hizo una revisión rigurosa sobre estudios realizados. Procesada la selección de la evidencia empírica, se determinó procesar la información de trece artículos que reunieron los requisitos cuantitativos y que contenían información estadística sobre coeficientes de correlación. El procesamiento del metaanálisis en el forest plot, se obtuvo un estimador global de Q=0,62 con un nivel de confianza de 0,05 con 13 grados de libertad. El resultado permite inferir que toda empresa que decide aplicar la estrategia basada en la gestión de almacén, podrá alcanzar un significativo incremento en el control de inventario. Además, se calculó el coeficiente de determinación R2 , reflejando la bondad del ajuste del modelo en las variables de estudio, con un nivel de 0,49; por los tanto se puede afirmar que, a mayor aplicación en la gestión de almacén, mayor será el control en los inventarios en el sector comercial

What is behind the brand? Social and environmental sustainability in the upstream phases of the denim value chain

The thesis aims to contribute to the literature of sustainability by undertaking a value chain perspective which asses the environmental and social sustainability practices and approaches adopted by the upstream suppliers within the italian denim value chian, the drivers in the industry and supplier' contribution in trasforming the denim industry in a more sustainable , traceable and transparent one. To achieve this aim, both a quantitative and explorative approach have been followed

Textile materials

In this specialised publication, the reader will find research results and real engineering developments in the field of modern technical textiles. Modern technical textile materials, ranging from ordinary reinforcing fabrics in the construction and production of modern composite materials to specialised textile materials in the composition of electronics, sensors and other intelligent devices, play an important role in many areas of human technical activity. The use of specialized textiles, for example, in medicine makes it possible to achieve important results in diagnostics, prosthetics, surgical practice and the practice of using specialized fabrics at the health recovery stage. The use of reinforcing fabrics in construction can significantly improve the mechanical properties of concrete and various plaster mixtures, which increases the reliability and durability of various structures and buildings in general. In mechanical engineering, the use of composite materials reinforced with special textiles can simultaneously reduce weight and improve the mechanical properties of machine parts. Fabric- reinforced composites occupy a significant place in the automotive industry, aerospace engineering, and shipbuilding. Here, the mechanical reliability and thermal resistance of the body material of the product, along with its low weight, are very relevant. The presented edition will be useful and interesting for engineers and researchers whose activities are related to the design, production and application of various technical textile materials

Transparency and traceability in the textile value chain

A textile and apparel value chain is one of the most important customer commodity industries with long linear supply chains. They are considered to be among the most polluting industries globally (Niinimäki et al., 2020; Virta and Räisänen, 2021). The textiles sector contributes to 8–10% of global climate change (Quantis, 2018; UNFCCC, 2018). For example, garment manufacturing requires large amounts of water and energy in fibres and textile production. Pollution and vast land use are additional problems. Without proper treatment before discharge, wet processing wastewater contains harmful chemicals that can contaminate exhaust air, wastewater, and the fabric itself, causing severe ecological damage. Moreover, the overproduction and overconsumption of apparel products haveled to a massive load on landfills. All these reasons and more make it critical to understand,evaluate, and reform the functioning of this value chain with the help of new technologies and digitalisation

Study applying simulation to improve a real production process in the context of Industry 4.0

During the thesis development, simulation theories and techniques will be applied to a part of the production process of an Italian manufacturing company. A simulation model of the steaming and washing phases will be developed to outline the automated and manual procedures that are performed in the AS-IS state. Several what-if scenarios will be then envisioned and simulated to analyze how the production activities could be re-engineered in the light of the new technological advancements, such as the introduction of full traceability

Competition Among Domestic Apparel Manufacturers

Apparel manufacturing characterizes a sustainable means of creating employment and encouraging economic growth; however, 86% of U.S. apparel manufacturing companies and 74.7% in North Carolina have closed since the late 1990s. Less than 3% of apparel bought in the United States is domestic. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies used by American apparel manufacturing business leaders who produce competitive products using Porter\u27s diamond theory as the conceptual framework. Data were collected through semistructured interviews of 4 business leaders from an apparel manufacturer that had been in business a minimum of 5 years in North Carolina. Member checking and transcript review were used to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings. Data were coded using a qualitative analysis software. Coded data were analyzed to identify themes. The results led to 3 major themes: technology, time, and brand development. The findings revealed that apparel manufacturing business managers used technology to produce competitive apparel products by owning the fiber, fabric, and technologies in the apparel products and shortened lead-times to the retailer. New knowledge from this study could contribute to social change through improved opportunities for apparel workers, improved business strategies among apparel manufacturing business leaders, and increased demand for apparel products produced in the United States. The findings from this study may also contribute to positive social change by potentially increasing business prospects for apparel manufacturers, suppliers, auxiliary businesses, thereby increasing revenue in North Carolina and the United States

Benetton and Zara information systems:a comparative analysis

Supply chain management has emerged as one of the major areas for companies to gain a competitive edge. Managing supply chains effectively is a complex and challenging task, due to the current business trends of expanding product variety, short product life cycle, increasing outsourcing, globalization of businesses, and continuous advances in information technology. Because of shorter and shorter product life cycles, the pressure for dynamically adjusting and adapting a company¿s supply chain strategy is mounting. In this project are compared two important companies :Zara and Benetton, a spanish and an italian one. These companies have different approaches that enable at the same result : satisfy customer¿s demand. ECR is an important suggest to supply chain management that had produced substantial results in other industry and that can be adopted as well in the clothing industry

Cotton utilization in women's apparel : gender, apparel purchase decisions, and fiber composition

textA cursory review of domestic apparel production data from ‘Cotton Counts Its Customers’ reports by The National Cotton Council of America showed a discrepancy between the amounts of cotton utilized in domestically produced women’s apparel and that for men’s apparel. It appeared that the men’s apparel sector had a higher percentage market share of cotton than women’s apparel. For both genders, cotton’s dwindling market share was similar to that of diminishing domestic US apparel production overall. Since the majority of apparel in the U.S. is imported, import data was obtained from the United States International Trade Commission and compiled with the domestic apparel data to offer a more expansive view of cotton’s market share and its use separated by gender. The compilation of domestic and import apparel data followed the overall trend of a higher percentage of weight of cotton being used in men’s apparel than in women’s. Challenging apparel categories which may offer potential for expanded utilization with increased performance were Coats, Underwear/Nightwear, Suits, and Dresses. In an attempt to add context to the apparel market data, we explored two stages of the apparel supply chain: the first at the retail setting, the second at the consumer purchase and wear decision level. At the retail level, we investigated the availability of fiber composition information and its use as a part of the assortment offered to consumers. Two stores were selected for this exploratory phase and retail availability by gender and fiber content were physically tallied in the two retail settings. In both retail assortments, there was no emphasis of fiber composition as part of the information offered to the consumer. For the consumer wanting to find cotton apparel in these two settings, prior knowledge regarding the feel or look of cotton would seem necessary to facilitate locating cotton among the assortment of apparel. Fiber blends can offer cotton-like appearance and hand, so fiber composition tags could give consumers certainty regarding the garments they are buying. In addition to the observations above, we also noted in both stores a prevalence of cotton in men’s apparel, and a larger presence of man-made fibers in women’s apparel, which reflects the overall market situation. Finally, the second exploratory stage focused on clothing diaries and a wardrobe inventory provided by a small purposeful sample of respondents to examine the role of fiber composition, cotton in particular, in the individual’s garment purchase and daily-use decisions. The findings suggested that fiber composition was an important part of the daily garment selection process, based upon the daily activity and a set of personal beliefs about what the diary respondent felt that fiber had to offer. Similar to the market data Results, in the Clothing Diary responses males showed a greater tendency to select both 100% cotton Tops and Bottoms than did the female respondents. Overall, cotton appeared challenged by man-made and other fibers when the respondents needed to “dress up”, to attend to athletic activity, or to satisfy the need for specific functionalities such as rapid drying.Textile and Apparel Technolog