To survive in the market, the goal of any manufacturing industry is to produce goods at the lowest time possible and at the lowest cost. Thus, it was decided to implement lean to improve productivity. Generally, in an industry more focus is given on profit. Though there are different expenditures involved in cost reduction internally spent by an industry through finding wastages, avoiding and improving faulty work would end in vast reserves. A study was carried out in a garment industry located at Tirupur, Tamilnadu, India, at sewing section to identify non-productive actions so as to eradicate them for saving time, cost and improve internal throughput time.
The understanding of consumer behaviour extends to various arms of science and is a key to successful marketing. By raising consumer awareness of negative influences of conventional production the importance of environmental friendliness of the product is increasing. Scientific paper presents the creation of consumer buying behaviour conceptual model to research and measure connections between buying factors and their affects on consumer buying decision making for environment friendly textile products. The object of the paper is development of consumer buying behaviour conceptual model towards environment friendly textile products. Interconnections between selected buying factors (price, brand, design, environment friendly product features) and buying decision making of a selected consumer target group for environment friendly textile products will be presented at conceptual level. The research will, in terms of its design and content, represent one of the reference works in the field of marketing research and its narrower segment consumer behaviour.
Research on trading and consumer perspective on handicrafts consumption has not been focused much in India. Studies have targeted urbanization and globalization but not as a means to examine the complex patterns of sale of these artefacts so local and ethnic to their place of origin. The present study was conducted on the urban customers of New Delhi, India to understand their knowledge and attitudes towards handicraft consumption and their usage in urban scenario. An on-site survey, along with FGDs and interviews, have been used for data collection. Content analysis revealed that the urban young are not attracted by these handicrafts as much as the older counterparts who attach a cultural value to the system. The paper concludes with concise suggestions to improve consumption of handicrafts for development of these old yet cultural antiquities.
The use of next-generation advanced textiles materials is now accepted and preferred over conventional building materials by the architects due to unique characteristic features of textile materials contributing towards improving the overall function, aesthetics, and expressiveness of the built structures. In modern architecture, the high-performance textile materials are appreciated and adopted for a wider application gamut such as self-cleaning maintenance-free structures, fabric canopies, energy-efficient structures, high performing facade, energy harvesting curtains, flexible mega-structures, responsive phase-changing materials, air-supported fabric structures, thermal balancing, green roofs, smart living spaces, acoustic applications, advanced building materials, textile membranes and constructing living spaces in extreme weather conditions. The textile-based architecture is fast and easy to erect, needs less maintenance, cost-effective and can replace metal and other conventionally used construction materials. The study focuses on exploring the contribution of advanced textile materials application areas in modern sustainable architecture. The study also aims to highlight the key characteristic features of these uniquely engineered advanced textiles which make them suitable over conventionally used building materials.
In the 21st century, waste becomes the primary concern for the manufacturing sector and industries. The carpet and textile industry products are increasing in view of customer varying needs. This article highlights the development of polymer composites from waste carpets (Nylon). The Vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding method (VARTM) is used to infuse epoxy and hardener into the waste nylon carpet. The mixture is properly fused into the fibrous material without any blow holes and entrapping of air in a vacuum environment. It enhances the mechanical strength of the developed composites. The impact and flexural performance of the proposed polymer composites is investigated in this work. The outcomes of the developed carpet waste composites show the feasibility of lightweight structural applications. It can exhibit better shock load resistance and flexural than some conventional synthetic fiber polymer composites. This technique utilizes the carpet fiber sheets waste to manufacture composites with improved mechanical properties (Impact and flexural), ensuring recycling the waste carpet to overcome the environmental hazards
The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe shortages of critical medical PPE products such as gowns, masks, gloves, face shields, and N95 respirators. With the shortages in supply, hospitals and other healthcare providers as well as first responders continue to experience extremely high demand for PPE products. The radical increase in demand significantly affected the supply chain network, which caused shortages of supplies and many disruptions in distribution.
The paper describes some of the changes to the textile business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it explores which of these changes are of a temporary nature and which are likely to constitute a more long-term, strategic change.
The clothing consumption in the USA has been increasing exponentially since last two decades. This increase in consumption has also expanded the fashion retailing business in the USA. For the last few years, there have been different claims and counterclaims on whether reshoring initiative will rise or decline. A group of people thinks that reshoring trend has taken reverse turn and declined gradually. In contrast, other group has stated that the increased offshore production costs and growing demand of ‘Made-in- USA’ products among American retailers and consumers have elevated reshoring movement in the USA. Academic and market research investigations revealed that recently reshoring of textile and apparel manufacturing has significantly impacted on the retailing industry so as the overall economy through creating myriad job opportunities. This comparative position paper presents the promising growth reshoring of textile and apparel manufacturing industries based on the dissection of claims and counterclaims.
The Pandemic bomb that dropped on the world disrupted every business in ways they would have never imagined of. Every corner of the world has been affected not sparing the MNCs or the MSMEs. The scenario of Indian Textile and Apparel Industries is no different. The major challenges faced by them leading to a disruptive supply chain includes migration of labour forces, constraints in cash flow, sourcing issues, transportation issues and so on. The Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC) has stated that 65% of exports payments has not been completed due to the pandemic which amounts to $2 Billion. The disrupted supply chains due to lockdowns and cancellation of many orders in the domestic apparel retailers have also caused many retails shops to close because of the huge losses incurred. Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyse the different strategies in handling the supply chain for both structured and unstructured apparel retailers that they adopted during this pandemic. By comparing the strategies of companies that have been able to survive with those who couldn’t, the flaws could be understand and improvement methods for the poor performing companies can be suggested. Moreover, the study would also help to understand the critical points of operation controlling which, the companies could improve their survival conditions in the market as well as prepare themselves for the onset of any other disaster conditions in the future. Further, the study would also understand the supply chain management strategies of handloom sectors and come up with plausible solutions for improving their condition. Methodology: The data collection for this study is done through primary and secondary sources. Information regarding company performance, growth statistics before and after pandemic, customer base and losses incurred were posed to the structured, unstructured and handloom businesses. They were asked regarding the strategies they employed to control the operations and the issues they faced in detail. The analysis of the supply chain strategies was done taking into consideration the supporting factors including the reach of the companies, financial backing, help from government, transportation facilities and troubleshooting capabilities. Results: Through this study, a detailed insight is obtained on all the parameters which are important in the developing a strong supply chain for companies that aided in their survival. Moreover, the important factors were identified which led to possible disruptions in the supply chain. The study will also help in coming up with damage control and prevention strategies that could be implemented whenever the company would face unpredicted problems.
Denim fabrics are used in different applications. In the early times denims were manufactured from 100% cotton yarn in which the warp yarn is dyed and floated in 3/1 twill, but now a day’s different types of yarns are used as weft. In this study four different denim fabric samples of 3/1 Z twill with warp (6.5Ne) density of 60 yarns per inch and weft yarn (12Ne cotton, 14Ne cotton/70 denier spandex, 400 denier polyester/50 denier spandex and 450 denier polyester) density of 40 yarns per inch, were used for investigating the surface and low stress tensile, shear proper¬ties of denim fabrics. Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics (KES-FB) was used to measure surface and mechanical properties of fabrics. The result revealed that denims made from cotton has higher shear and surface properties than denims made from polyester yarn whereas denims made from cotton has lower strength properties than denim made from polyester. Adding spandex in both fabrics (denims made from cotton and denims made from cotton and polyester) improves handling properties like smoothness and recoverability properties.
Denim fabrics are used in different applications. In the early times denims were manufactured from 100% cotton yarn in which the warp yarn is dyed and floated in 3/1 twill, but now a day’s different types of yarns are used as weft. In this study four different denim fabric samples of 3/1 Z twill with warp (6.5Ne) density of 60 yarns per inch and weft yarn (12Ne cotton, 14Ne cotton/70 denier spandex, 400 denier polyester/50 denier spandex and 450 denier polyester) density of 40 yarns per inch, were used for investigating the surface and low stress tensile, shear proper¬ties of denim fabrics. Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics (KES-FB) was used to measure surface and mechanical properties of fabrics. The result revealed that denims made from cotton has higher shear and surface properties than denims made from polyester yarn whereas denims made from cotton has lower strength properties than denim made from polyester. Adding spandex in both fabrics (denims made from cotton and denims made from cotton and polyester) improves handling properties like smoothness and recoverability properties.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, healthcare systems across the United States have experienced severe shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This equipment is critical for the proper protection of healthcare workers while they perform patient care for COVID-19 patients. Identifying the need for PPE for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers was a major challenge in the United States. The aim of this research is to understand how the need for PPE was tracked in the US and comparing these methods with approaches in other countries with far better outcomes. This paper is intended to provide an in-depth understanding of how in the absence of leadership from the Federal Government, non-profit organizations, universities, and others created working systems for tracking COVID-19 patients and estimating PPE needs. The first and most critical needs for PPE were for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in hospitals and other healthcare organizations such as extended-care facilities caring for infected patients. Immediately it became clear that PPE shortages for first responders, other essential workers, and members of the public were also hampering the control of the virus. The main contribution of this paper is a recommendation for the US that includes PPE prediction models to have a better understanding of PPE needs and requirements.
Garment washing is very popular method to modify the outlook of the garments and create a new , different and unique effect. Acid wash is done to create an irregular fading effect as well as has effect on physical and mechanical properties of the garments. In this study acid wash was done with same concentration of liquor but with different associates such as pumice stone, cock sheet, thermocol ball, towel. This paper shows the impact of acid wash on three different composition fabric one of them was 100% cotton, indigo dark, denim fabric, another was 98.5% cotton 1.5% spandex, indigo denim fabric and last one was 94.5% cotton 5.5% spandex , indigo denim fabric. The physical properties and rubbing fastness properties were analyzed in before and after washing. The properties that were analyzed include tensile strength, tear strength, fabric weight, shrinkage percentage and color fastness to rubbing. Acid wash with different associates on different composition fabric exhibit a great difference in the physical properties than the unwashed garments. But the samples has shown almost similar results for rubbing fastness.
In this paper, we report on the motivations of African American women entrepreneurs concerning their lived experiences, as they consider and conduct aspects of their Apparel/Retail businesses. Data collection took place through in-depth interviews with thirteen African American women entrepreneurs. One major theme with two sub-themes was developed from the data. The theme revealed that African American women entrepreneurs viewed their Apparel/Retail businesses as a means of contributing to their communities. Our analysis suggested that gaining a better understanding of the entrepreneurial motivations of African American women entrepreneurs provides insight into creating more equitable and inclusive entrepreneurship initiatives. Essentially, their entrepreneurial motivations indicate how they can be further supported given their experiences in Apparel/Retail businesses.
The rapid pace of developments in science and technology provides the consumers a new and improved lifestyle. Textile being one of the important consumer products, it attracts the field of research not only to enhance its basic functionality but also to be smart. Hence, research in the field of smart textile grabs the attention globally, one such being the integration of micro / nano electronics with the textile structures. In the context, the concept of wearable thermoelectric generator (TEG) is found to be interesting as it can generate electricity by making the temperature difference between human body and ambient air which has been recognized as the Seebeck Effect. The power generated by the TEG is proportional to the temperature gradient between the hot and cold junctions. In this work, a power generating fabric has been developed for converting human body heat energy to electric energy. The power generating fabric is fabricated through weaving technique with copper and aluminum wires as weft and cotton yarn as warp. Copper and aluminum wires are act as P-type and N-type semiconductor to form thermo electric column. It is found that the developed fabric generates voltage up to 2.4 mV for the temperature difference of 50o C. The developed fabric can be integrated in to the normal clothing and can be used to give power supply to devices like RFID tracker, hearing aid etc.
Casein is natural and well known for its soft and delicate nature due to the presence of higher protein content. In this research, casein fabric was developed and evaluated for air permeability, moisture management ability, and different low-stress mechanical properties including tensile, shear, bending, the coefficient of friction, surface roughness, values of linearity, compression work, and resilience. The developed casein fabrics were also evaluated subjectively to analyze comfort parameters. The results showed that the knitted casein fabric exhibited higher air permeability than cotton fabric and shares the same rating with cotton overall moisture management capacity index (OMMC) level. The casein fabric has higher extensibility under low stress along with lower toughness. The bending rigidity and hysteresis (at both the angles) values of casein fabric are also lower than cotton. Additionally, the casein fabric displayed better drape-ability than cotton fabric. The compression and surface friction values observed are slightly higher than cotton fabric. In the subjective analysis, out of 20 subjects, 18 reported the fabric as best compared to cotton fabric in terms of overall comfort aspects.
Apparel fit is the main attribute consider by women consumers when they purchase ready to wear apparel. “Clothing fit is defined as garment that have the proper size & shape” that means garment fit have two basic elements of size & shape (Aklamati, Twum, & Deikumah, 2016). Indian apparel industry uses western countries size system due to non-availability of standard size and modify according to ideal figure. As women population consist of various body shapes therefore, customer whose body shape attributes differ from the ideal figure may experience fitting issues. Fitting is the most challenging factor in women’s apparel manufacturing for ready to wear industry. As per review of literature, it is apparent that women customers are not satisfied with the fitting of ready to wear apparels. Dissatisfaction with apparel fit is most repeated problem with customers (Alexander, M., Jo Connell, L. and Beth Presley, A. 2005). This systematic review examines the evidence based on literature review to identify common causes of fitting issues in women’s wear garments and impact on their satisfaction level. The study gives a detailed description of the methodological characteristics of the literature, identifies key related factors, and the findings are compared within an international context.
In the last decade, the technological development of 3D garment simulation software has accelerated and garment simulation is widely discussed in industry and research. The advantages are significant, fewer physically sewn prototypes are needed. This saves time and money. It allows faster, better communication, which leads to quicker decisions within the development process. Fit models can be made available in all sizes and simulation across the whole size range is possible. Yet, the quality of the garment fit evaluation depends on accurately sized avatars and realistic fabric drape combined with a deep understanding of the simulation processes of the systems as well as clothing technology know-how. But software’s default avatars show limitations. For example, moving limbs show unrealistic “water hose effects” of joints where the tube-like arm or leg is simply folded. This study’s aim was to compare software-provided avatars three-dimensionally with 4D scans of real test persons. In addition, a new process for avatar generation was developed outside of the 3D garment simulation software. The results are parametric and rigged avatars to be utilized across the programs.
Over the years, the rise of global competitiveness all across trades has led the need of essential development of talent in organizations. The dynamic nature of businesses has led to more agile manufacturing. The textile and apparel manufacturing industry is one of highest foreign exchange earners for India. At a global level, India is behind China as a manufacturer. Availability of suitable skills for the textile and apparel manufacturing sectors aggravates the problems of the workforce. Therefore, there is a great need to pay attention to develop the human resources and concentrate on the availability of trained and developed manpower to achieve the organizational objectives. Training Needs Analysis (TNA) helps in assessing any gaps in the current training initiatives and identification of skill sets necessary for the growth of employees. These gaps can be analysed and incorporated in the initiatives for effective training in an organization. The research is based on the responses of 40 HR personnel/s from vertically integrated textile and apparel manufacturing organizations based in SAS nagar, Ludhiana industrial regions of Punjab. Structured questionnaire at five point Likert Scale was used as the research tool. Statistical analysis through descriptive statistics and chi-square test was used to analyse the findings. The findings indicated that the respondents agreed that the variables associated with Individual analysis, task analysis and organizational analysis played a statistical significant role in determining Training needs analysis in the surveyed organizations.
Doffing process defined by removal of full spinning tubes by stopping the ring spinning machine and replacing it with the new ones, is one of the essential ring spinning processes. Although this process can be done automatically by specialized ring machines, it is still done manually in many ring spinning mills avoiding the cost of doffing equipment. However, the manual doffing process can lead to quite a lot of yarns breaks affecting the machine efficiency and the production significantly. Here, we examined how and to what extent unwanted breaks affect the machine efficiency by using simulation technique and performing economic analysis taking into account certain parameters of efficiency. Our data show that increased lambda values with the same doffing process breaks result in higher production and profit losses. We suggest that the decision on doffing automation should be made using break-even analysis projecting both cost of doffing breaks and automation.
