In the last two decades, the fashion value chain traveled to developing parts of the world. To these nations, it paved a path for socio-economic development initially but lately…
Abstract
Purpose
In the last two decades, the fashion value chain traveled to developing parts of the world. To these nations, it paved a path for socio-economic development initially but lately, the aftermath has costed more. This article visualizes the gains and losses of fast fashion to these countries.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth systematic literature review was performed to analyze the secondary data from academic journals and reports from international organizations. The authors have compiled their empirical journeys in academia, research and industry from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) based on Schon's (1983, 1990) theory of reflective practice. Further on, the article is structured using the value chain analysis (VCA) method which visualizes the aftermath of mass-producing fashion for the developed countries.
Findings
In this research it was found that LMICs have made substantial economic progress in the past two decades, however at a high social and environmental cost. It is the right time to find a balance between economic development and harm caused to the citizens of these nations.
Originality/value
At the moment the existing academic literature talks about unsustainable practices in the fashion sector around the world. This research precisely targets the LMICs where the aftermath is supposed to be much more severe. Further, it provides solutions and urges these nations to bring a substantial change throughout the value chain for a robust future.
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S. Muthu, S.R. Devadasan, Prakash Stephen Mendonca and G. Sundararaj
Claims that the concepts of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) fundamentally aim at applying Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy in maintenance engineering. Emphasises the…
Abstract
Claims that the concepts of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) fundamentally aim at applying Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy in maintenance engineering. Emphasises the need of incorporating quality system and its monitoring to enhance maintenance quality. Points out that QS 9000 standard is expected to be a future quality system model in enterprises. Describes the design features of maintenance quality system model that has been developed based on QS 9000 standards. Cites the need of using continuous and economical knowledge which is possible only through the careful exploitation of information technology. Briefs the design of a knowledge base system and the development and performance of its pre‐auditing module. Presents a few sample screen outputs of this module. Concludes by suggesting the ways of productively exploiting the pre‐auditing module of the knowledge base system.
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Alfredo Estrada-Merino and Aldo Alvarez-Risco
The higher education after the pandemic has put the entire university education system to test, bringing to light the need to build a genuinely sustainable academic system…
Abstract
The higher education after the pandemic has put the entire university education system to test, bringing to light the need to build a genuinely sustainable academic system composed of administrative, pedagogical, and governance processes with a social and environmental scope and oriented to the training of resilient professionals, with the ability to manage a sustainable future. Seen from a management perspective, the actors of this system have begun to work focusing on rebuilding the postpandemic world into a sustainable planet for the continuity of humanity. Regarding students, the most affected individuals by the health crisis, UNESCO indicates that the impact of the temporary cessation of on-site activities has affected them in various dimensions in terms of student stability, bringing with it more significant evidence of crises due to social, emotional, cultural, and familiar problems, among others. In that sense, the change of means of interaction in student environments represents a negative turning point in the future of professionals who are now receiving education. This allows us to reflect on the high risks involved in achieving the acquisition of not only technical and specific skills and competencies of the professional specialties but also social, ethical, and citizenship skills that take much greater relevance, especially in this context.
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Swapping as part of collaborative consumption is not a new phenomenon per se, but might gain increased importance after the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has seen a shift in…
Abstract
Swapping as part of collaborative consumption is not a new phenomenon per se, but might gain increased importance after the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has seen a shift in consumer attitudes, consumption, and disposal behaviour. Swapping as one form of collaborative consumption, however, is currently neither mainstream nor target towards the general population, but rather a niche population (secondhand consumers). With sustainable issues (environmental, economic, and social) remaining a key concern, and consumers seeking to dispose of their garments, swapping might become an increasingly attractive alternative, yet currently it may not be communicated as such. This chapter explores the potential of creative marketing communications to enhance the uptake of swapping in order to overcome a key challenge in the industry: fashion waste.
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Sharon Esquerre-Botton, Aldo Alvarez-Risco, Luigi Leclercq-Machado, Maria de las Mercedes Anderson-Seminario and Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales
Business models are constantly innovating to adopt international trends. Business models are shifting toward sustainable practices to meet expectations and standards and keep on…
Abstract
Business models are constantly innovating to adopt international trends. Business models are shifting toward sustainable practices to meet expectations and standards and keep on with the rest of the competitors in their industries. Recently, sustainability took a greater emphasis, and this chapter seeks to describe the main sustainability initiatives generated in international markets. Through a qualitative study made of secondary sources, strategies aligned to different sustainability initiatives are shown. Interestingly, adopting technology, digital transformation, and blockchain can enhance sustainable development.
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Hung Ngoc Phan and Satoko Okubayashi
Dehydrated bacterial cellulose’s (BC) intrinsic rigidity constrains applicability across textiles, leather, health care and other sectors. This study aims to yield a novel BC…
Abstract
Purpose
Dehydrated bacterial cellulose’s (BC) intrinsic rigidity constrains applicability across textiles, leather, health care and other sectors. This study aims to yield a novel BC modification method using glycerol and succinic acid with catalyst and heat, applied via an industrially scalable padding method to tackle BC’s stiffness drawbacks and enhance BC properties.
Design/methodology/approach
Fabric-like BC is generated via mechanical dehydration and then finished by using padding method with glycerol, succinic acid, catalyst and heat. Comprehensive material characterizations, including international testing standards for stiffness, bending properties (cantilever method), tensile properties, moisture vapor transmission rate, moisture content and regain, washing, thermal gravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and colorimetric measurement, are used.
Findings
The combination of BC/glycerol/succinic acid dramatically enhanced porous structure, elongation (27.40 ± 6.39%), flexibility (flexural rigidity of 21.46 ± 4.01 µN m; bending modulus of 97.45 ± 18.20 MPa) and moisture management (moisture vapor transmission rate of 961.07 ± 86.16 g/m2/24 h; moisture content of 27.43 ± 2.50%; and moisture regain of 37.94 ± 4.73%). This softening process modified the thermal stability of BC. Besides, this study alleviated the drawbacks for washing (five cycles) of BC and glycerol caused by the ineffective affinity between glycerol and cellulose by adding succinic acid with catalyst and heat.
Originality/value
The study yields an effective padding process for BC softening and a unique modified BC to contribute added value to textile and leather industries as a sustainable alternative to existing materials and a premise for future research on BC functionalization by using doable technologies in mass production as padding.
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Victor Chang, Stéphane Gagnon, Raul Valverde and Muthu Ramachandran
Vittorio Cesarotti and Caterina Spada
The purpose of the framework here proposed is to introduce an industrial culture within the service organizations. Concepts such as employees empowerment, ownership, continuous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the framework here proposed is to introduce an industrial culture within the service organizations. Concepts such as employees empowerment, ownership, continuous improvement, together with the systematic implementation of quantitative methods builds the organizational basis for achieving operational excellence in services, reducing costs and increasing service quality. This has been deployed in two phases: a “hard” phase to support the design of the service and the construction of tangible and intangible elements of the service, and a “soft” phase to support the management, maintenance and improvement of the service delivery. All this has been applied to the hotel service sector where the interaction between tangible and intangible elements of the service are particularly evident.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework uses and integrates several methodologies. Quality function deployment (QFD) is largely used in order to support the “hard” phase of the framework. Kano's model of customer requirements has been integrated in the QFD structure by means of an original method developed by the authors, introducing a so‐called non‐quality priority number (similar to the failure modes and effects analysis' risk priority number) that in combination with a so‐called quality priority number drives the decisions for improvement towards operational excellence. Moreover, the “soft” phase of the framework introduces methods such as failure mode and effect analysis and total productive maintenance in order to improve the service organization's operational competence and culture, increasing at the same time the sense of ownership and the commitment for improvement of front line workers.
Findings
Through this paper, it has been shown that industrial methods for operational excellence can be adapted and transferred to the service sector with a potential for significant improvements in particular for those services with a high degree of tangible factors. Allowing in this way to achieve outstanding results also without significant investments.
Research limitations/implications
This paper does not have the intention of describing the state‐of‐the‐art of service design and management, but rather it focuses on the transfer of industrial methods and techniques to the service sector.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is related to proposal of a global systemic approach to operational excellence in services, by means of which industrial methods for operational excellence are transferred to the service sector. Only few works in literature have tried to transfer industrial methods for operational excellence to services, however the main value of this paper is not – or not only – in the specific methods proposed, but in their integration in the systemic approach.
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Jagdeep Singh and Harwinder Singh
The purpose of this paper is to assess TPM pillars for manufacturing performance improvement in the manufacturing organizations of Northern India and to identify critical and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess TPM pillars for manufacturing performance improvement in the manufacturing organizations of Northern India and to identify critical and non-critical components based on failure history, to minimize machine downtime, maximize component/machine availability and to identify failure modes, their causes and effects of these failures on machines or components in the case company under study.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, TPM pillars in the paint manufacturing plant have been elaborated to ascertain the tangible and intangible benefits accrued as a result of successful TPM implementation. The approach has been directed toward justification of TPM implementation for its support to competitive manufacturing in the context of Indian manufacturing industries.
Findings
Findings suggest that maintenance planning is more effective than small improvements for achieving benefits from TPM pillars. Moreover, results indicated that critical components show average reliability and failure probability of about 50 percent.
Originality/value
The present study encompasses systematic identification of maintenance-related losses, setting up of targets regarding maintenance performance improvements and developing guidelines for achieving enhanced manufacturing system performance through strategic TPM implementation in the manufacturing plant, which can also be important to all concerned with maintenance in various manufacturing enterprises.
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Hung Ngoc Phan, Huong Mai Bui and Nguyen Khanh Vu
Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an ideal alternative filtering material. However, current functionalization approaches for BC have not been fully discovered industrially as well as…
Abstract
Purpose
Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an ideal alternative filtering material. However, current functionalization approaches for BC have not been fully discovered industrially as well as academically applying textile processing. This study aims to create a sustainable fabric-like membrane made of BC/activated carbon (AC) for applications in filtration using textile padding method, to protect people from respiratory pandemics.
Design/methodology/approach
Fabric-like BC is first mechanically dehydrated then AC is loaded via a textile padding step. The finishing efficacy, properties of fabric-like BC/AC and NaOH pretreatment are analyzed and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), CIELab color space, color strength (K/S), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm including Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area and Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) pore size and volume.
Findings
This research results in a fabric-like BC/AC with pore diameters of 3.407 ± 0.310 nm, specific surface area of 115.28 m2/g and an efficient scalable padding process, which uses 8 times less amount of chemical and nearly 30 times shorter treating duration than conventional methods.
Practical implications
Our globe is now consuming an alarming amount of non-degradable disposable masks resulting in massive trash buildup as a future environmental problem. Besides, current disposable masks requiring a significant upfront technological investment have posed challenges in human protection from respiratory diseases, especially for countries with limited conditions. By combining a sustainable material (BC) with popular padding method of textile industry, the fabric-like BC/AC will offer sustainable and practical values for both humankind and nature.
Originality/value
This research has offered an effective padding process to functionalize BC, and a unique fabric-like BC/AC membrane for filtration applications.