Materials and manufacturing environmental sustainability evaluation of apparel product: knitted T-shirt case study

In this paper, evaluation of base materials and manufacturing environmental sustainability of selected branded T-shirt products made by Bangladesh is presented. The study is based on performing various eco-friendliness tests for the product base materials and evaluation though a standard tool named Higg Index. For this study, selected apparel branded T-shirt products from renowned brand, namely B, C, D, E, and F, and a researcher-developed BUTex-Innovation brand A are taken into consideration. Better environmental sustainability results, i.e., higher score, is obtained by A, B, C, and D branded T-shirts, but local branded product of E and F resulted in poor environmental sustainability with lower scores in terms of product eco-friendliness tests and High Index assessment tool. Besides, many weaknesses and opportunities for improvement of environmental sustainability in materials and manufacturing stages are identified and suggested to lead the textiles and clothing sectors towards sustainable growth

Homewear in Brazil: evolution from 1976 to present

The traditional bride trousseau (homewear) was composed of bedding, table and bath textiles and household utensils that were necessary for her married life. Social changes and technological advances provided a new perspective and proportion for homewear textile sector. This study aimed to analyze the evolution of household linen (bedding, table and bath), from 1976 to 2019, in Brazil, related to composition of materials. Literature and magazines of this area were analyzed, notably Casa Vogue Brasil (“Vogue Home Brazil”) and Casa Claudia (“Claudia Home”) magazines. It concluded that the main employed material is cotton, followed in lesser extent by blends (notably cotton and polyester). The classic patterns predominate, especially the flat fabrics, ornamented with embroidery and classic design of flower and geometric prints, white and soft colors (clear beige, clear gray, etc.). These products represent the majority of sales in the domestic, but they could be non-competitive at the foreign market considering the price in relation to commodities from Asia and also lacking the necessary differentiation to meet these target publicsThe authors gratefully acknowledge the funding by CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (”Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education”) and and FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (“Minas Gerais State Research Support Foundation”)