Apparel Purchasing with Consideration of Eco-labels among Slovenian Consumers

The increasing public awareness and sense of social responsibility related to environmental issues have led the textile and clothing industry to manufacture products with improved environmental profiles. During the 1990’s, the industrialised world witnessed a growing number of environmental labels as a way of encouraging consumers and industries to alter their consumption patterns and to make wiser use of resources and energy in the drive for sustainable development. In this exploratory study, environmental knowledge among Slovenian consumers regarding the most popular current eco labels was examined. Data were collected through a structured online survey from a simple random sample of 535 consumers. Responses to an online questionnaire indicated that the largest share of participants consider clothing composition the most, while only a small percentage consider eco labels and the environmental impact. Consumers are willing to pay no more than 10% for a textile product with an ecological label attached. The largest proportion of respondents identified themselves as average eco-conscious,, although they didn’t show any knowledge of eco labels. The study revealed that it is necessary to increase the level of awareness of sustainable materials as well as trust in eco labelling systems with transparent standardisation and certification systems.Wzrastająca świadomość społeczna odpowiedzialności w stosunku do zagadnień ochrony środowiska skłoniła przemysł tekstylny i odzieżowy do produkcji wyrobów o podwyższonych parametrach ekologicznych. W latach 1990 kraje uprzemysłowione zaczęły wprowadzać coraz więcej oznakowań ekologicznych dla zachęcenia konsumentów i producentów w zakresie wyboru produktu jak i wyboru surowca. W artykule przedstawiono studium oparte na badaniach świadomości ekologicznej słoweńskich konsumentów i ich ustosunkowanie się do najbardziej popularnych oznakowań ekologicznych. Wykorzystano 535 opinii na ten temat, które wykazały ze zdecydowana większość konsumentów uważa za najbardziej istotny skład surowcowy produktu. Tylko mały procent uwzględnia oznaczenie ekologiczne oraz wpływ produktu na środowisko. Konsumenci są skłonni płacić nie więcej niż ponad 10% za produkt włókienniczy oznaczony ekologicznym znakiem. Większość respondentów identyfikowała się jako świadomych ekologicznie mimo braku wiedzy o oznaczeniach ekologicznych

Study of the Interaction Between Methyl Orange and Mono and Bis-Quaternary Ammonium Surfactants

The solubilization and interaction of an azodye (methyl orange) with dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and cationic gemini surfactants in the series of alkanediyl α,ω-bis[(dimethyl alkyl ammonium)bromide)] referred to as (m-s-m), m = 10, 12, 14 and s = 2, 3, 4 were investigated by means of UV-Vis spectroscopy. Aggregation with the anionic dye was reflected by a hypsochromic shift with a decrease in the intensity of the absorption band. The results also show a bathochromic shift followed by a sharp increase in the intensity of the maximum absorption band λmax after the critical micellar concentration (CMC). This indicates that the dye solubility increased with increasing surfactant concentration. It was also observed that the aggregation of surfactant and dye takes place at a surfactant concentration far below the CMC of the individual surfactant. The effects of the chain length as well as the spacer length of gemini surfactants on the critical aggregation concentration and CMC were also examined. Moreover, the partition coefficients between the bulk water and surfactant micelles KS and KX as well as the Gibbs energies of distribution of dye between the bulk water and surfactant micelles were determined using the pseudophase model. The effect of the hydrophobic chain length and spacer of gemini surfactants on the distribution parameters is also reported.We would like to thank The CNRST (Morocco) for its financial support: Project: Protars (D13/31)Peer reviewe