Manoj Kumar Paras and Antonela Curteza
The purpose of this study is to review the literature and practice of upcycling. In particular, the objective of this study is threefold: to comprehend the concept of upcycling…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to review the literature and practice of upcycling. In particular, the objective of this study is threefold: to comprehend the concept of upcycling and, subsequently, understanding the prominent terminologies used in the literature; to understand the process of upcycling and problem associated with it; and to review current literature and practice of upcycling for clothes.
Design/methodology/approach
A scientific literature review procedure proposed by Mayring (2002) was adopted to select and screen the paper that comprises the following steps: material collection, descriptive analysis and material evaluation.
Findings
Upcycling literature has witnessed significant contribution in the past one decade. The paper has identified various terminologies and definitions such as recycling, down-cycling, upcycling and redesign, which are used in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
The present study may help the scholars to understand the current state of literature. A practitioner of upcycling can use the findings to improve and standardise the existing process.
Originality/value
The process of redesigning is one of the important steps in upcycling, which comprises ideation, reconstruction and fitting. The limitation of redesigning is variability in size and pattern. This can be overcome through various techniques such as craftsmanship, time, innovation, provenance, desire and narrative.
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Manoj Kumar Paras, Antonela Curteza and Geetika Varshneya
Undesired changes in the environment and reduction of natural resources have necessitated the need for environmental protection and resource conservation. Textile and clothing…
Abstract
Purpose
Undesired changes in the environment and reduction of natural resources have necessitated the need for environmental protection and resource conservation. Textile and clothing industry is the second largest (after food) industry. Therefore, there is a need to protect the environment by reducing the use of natural resources. The purpose of this paper is to explore and identify the best reverse value chain alternatives for the clothing industry.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study is undertaken at six organizations working in the area of used clothes. The data were collected with the help of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire, for the analytical hierarchy process analysis. The information from other sources such documents, websites, and reports was also gathered to strengthen the findings.
Findings
There are different reverse value chain methods to minimize the use of natural resources such as direct reuse, upcycling and downcycling. Incineration and landfill can be considered as the last options. The selection of best reverse value chain method is a multi-criteria value decision-making problem, as this involves complex decision parameters.
Practical implications
The industry practitioners can use the above model and results to make end-of-life decisions.
Originality/value
This paper develops a model on the basis of the analytic hierarchy process to determine the best method to close the loop of the clothing value chain. On the basis of the result and analysis, upcycling emerged to be the best alternative to close the loop of the clothing industry.
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Antonela Curteza and Adela Florea
Presently, worldwide apparel companies are facing a turbulent market caused by permanent globalization, sustained economic growth, consolidation of industries and intense…
Abstract
Presently, worldwide apparel companies are facing a turbulent market caused by permanent globalization, sustained economic growth, consolidation of industries and intense organization competition. The main problem faced by the managers is actually the opportunities and threats resulted. The concept of “enterprise agility ” has become increasingly relevant.
The concept and thematic for the apparel industry are still new to the world. In this study, they are used to underline the way in which an agile enterprise without automated processes reacts in an environment of variable or extreme turbulence and how it derives solutions to stimulating innovation capacity in extreme turbulence.
This study presents the main problems occurred while determining the agility of the apparel companies which manufacture ready-made clothing. Referrals are made to the main subsystems which are considered very important for the agility of apparel enterprises. The Design subsystem is modeled. The methods of selecting agility parameters and their transposing in comparable units for quantification are also presented.