Babywearing establishes a dyadic system where comfort is achieved through heat exchange between the adult and infant, yet few studies have examined this interaction. Therefore, this exploratory research investigates the heat interaction that occurs during babywearing. A babywearing protocol was developed for use with an adult and infant thermal manikin in tandem for testing in standard and cold-weather environments. Heat flux data were analyzed for differences between adult-infant interaction zones. Results indicate that the babywearing apparatus impacted the thermal neutrality for both participants, with the infant manikin experiencing a greater reduction in heat flux for areas of contact. Notably, the infant manikin displayed a relatively uniform distribution of heat across zones, indicating that the dyad creates a more thermally stable environment for the infant. The findings help inform manufacturers and caregivers on how babywearing systems can influence the users’ thermal comfort.
As future designers, apparel program graduates are expected to effectively address the complexities of a changing marketplace through the design process, including considering sustainability issues and incorporating user needs and preferences. Although co-design is often used to develop these competencies independently, limited research examines how it can be used as a studio-based pedagogical strategy to facilitate concurrent collaborative and sustainable design decision-making. Thus, this paper reports on a semester-long co-design project implemented in a studio course in which university students collaborated with elementary school students to create sustainable garments. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods survey design, findings indicate that participants developed greater awareness of design as an iterative and dialogic process, strengthened their attention to user needs, broadened their understanding of sustainability, and recognized professional relevance. The Sustainable Co-Design Learning Framework (S-CDLF) was developed through interpretive synthesis of the findings and offers a conceptual guide for future sustainability-embedded co-design pedagogical studies.
This study investigates consumer willingness to pay a premium (WTP) for second-hand furniture by integrating Means-End Theory and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework in a two-stage analysis of single dataset ( n = 273, U.S. consumers). Exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical value mapping revealed layered cognitive linkages connecting functional, aesthetic, and social attributes to higher-order values. PLS-SEM demonstrated that WTP emerges through emotional and social pathways rather than utilitarian evaluation: uniqueness increased price acceptance through nostalgic pleasure and localism, while brand credibility and hygiene operated through risk perception and social value. Quality and sustainability did not translate into premium pricing. Theoretically, the study proposes a sequential organism mechanism grounded in appraisal theory, in which emotional states precede and activate cognitive-social evaluations, extending S-O-R beyond single-level mediation. Focusing on furniture which is durable, spatially embedded, and domestically visible, broadens second-hand research beyond apparel and shifts focus from purchase intention toward willingness to pay.
Sewing sequence planning determines the order for assembling a garment yet is still performed manually. This study proposes an Large Language Model (LLM)-based multi-agent system to generate the sequence, addressing a task whose knowledge divides into what can be formalized and what remains with experts. General construction principles were formalized into standard production knowledge, and a semantic metadata schema was developed to specify the functional role of panels, edges, and their correspondences. Generation, verification, question, and revision agents plan the sequence within a human-in-the-loop cycle that incorporates expert feedback when a decision cannot be resolved from these formalized resources. Across 100 patterns, the multi-agent configuration improved on the single-agent configuration while expert intervention was required for some patterns. The system turns the sewing sequence from a given input into a computational outcome by resolving decisions from formalized knowledge and eliciting expert feedback where design-specific judgment is required.
This study investigates how users’ experiences with smart virtual wardrobe applications may contribute to sustainable clothing consumption by exploring potential shifts in attitudes and behaviors across the acquisition, use, and disposal phases. The study employed a qualitative research design including pre-interviews, an eight-week app usage period, and post-interviews. The findings were analyzed using a consumer-centered clothing consumption framework informed by prior literature. Participants reported potential shifts across multiple consumption phases, including improved wardrobe utilization, greater attentiveness to garment lifespan, more deliberate purchase decisions, increased openness to alternative consumption, and heightened environmental awareness. The findings suggest that some app features may support changes beyond the phase of clothing consumption they were intended to support, highlighting the importance of understanding sustainable clothing consumption holistically across all phases. The study provides insights into how smart virtual wardrobe apps may promote more sustainable consumption and offers a foundation for future empirical research.
