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The shopping mall concept has emerged to provide unique mall facets to satisfy consumers that search for the ultimate shopping experience. Under one roof different sellers are assembled together with food outlets and entertainment to fulfill the requirements of consumers. Gradually an awareness of over-consumption has risen together which calls for reuse activities that reduce the consumption of new products. As an answer to the concept of a mall for sustainable practice, a recycling mall has been developed in Eskilstuna, Sweden. This study has been undertaken to understand the practice of the recycling mall and its encompassing reverse value chain activities. This is primarily done in two phases i.e., first to understand the backend operations by visiting collecting and sorting facilities and secondly to comprehend the perspectives of the management team by interviewing them. The findings from the current study suggest that the unique concept of recycling mall create a positive awareness among the customers to reuse, repair and redesign used products. An individual gets a unique experience to donate and purchase clothes, sports equipment, and construction material under one roof

This paper aims to predict the hand values (HVs) and total hand values (THVs) of functional fabrics by applying the fuzzy logic model (FLM) and artificial neural network (ANN) model. Functional fabrics were evaluated by trained panels employing subjective evaluation scenarios. Firstly, the FLM was applied to predict the HV from finishing parameters; then, the FLM and ANN model were applied to predict the THV from the HV. The estimation of the FLM on the HV was efficient, as demonstrated by the root mean square error (RMSE) and relative mean percentage error (RMPE); low values were recorded, except those bipolar descriptors whose values are within the lowermost extreme values on the fuzzy model. However, the prediction performance of the FLM and ANN model on THV was effective, where RMSE values of ∼0.21 and ∼0.13 were obtained, respectively; both values were within the variations of the experiment. The RMPE values for both models were less than 10%, indicating that both models are robust, effective, and could be utilized in predicting the THVs of the functional fabrics with very good accuracy. These findings can be judiciously utilized for the selection of suitable engineering specifications and finishing parameters of functional fabrics to attain defined tactile comfort properties, as both models were validated using real data obtained by the subjective evaluation of functional fabrics.

The present paper aims to investigate the practice of upcycling and redesign. The study draws on the multiple organizations involved in the redesigning activities. The organizations selected for the study are located in the northern part of Romania. Semi-structured interviews along with direct observations were used to collect information. The paper provides practical insights to upcycling process.Various kinds of redesigned products are made out of consumer and industrial wastes such as redesigned clothes, accessories for ladies, handbags, ladies purses and office stationery. Upcycling is generally considered as economically non-feasible. However, this study has found contradictory results. The demand-based redesign activities can help an organization to earn a profit. Two out of three selected organizations are able to self-sustain. One of the organizations is newly entered into the Romanian used clothing markets and ables to compete with existing players. This study could be seen as one of the early attempts to empirically explore the practice of textile and accessories upcycling practice in Eastern Europe. The findings from the current case study can provide several useful insights for other similar companies to make redesign activities profitable.

The design of assembly line layout is one of the most important influential factors for the company's performance. The inappropriate arrangement of the order of workstations in the assembly line could cause the excessive movement of the material. In order to increase productivity and reduce production cost, a multi-objective optimization model with minimum the transfer distance of semi-finished products and the total area of assembly line was established in this paper. The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II was applied to obtain the results of this model. The coding method, genetic operation and fitness function for three different kinds of sewing assembly line layouts (multi-line, U-shape two-line and U-shape three-line) were studied, while the workstations were organized in three ways: the order of processes, the type of machines, and the components of garment. The efficiency of the model was verified by the practice of sewing assembly lines for men's shirt. The layout schemes are compared with other algorithms. The results illustrated that NSGA-II algorithm is an effective tool to solve the sewing assembly line layout problem. The transfer distances of semi-finished products in the multi-line and U-shape (three-line) layouts arranged by garment components workstation layout were short. The multi-line layout arranged by the type of machines workstation layout occupied the smallest area. The model is suitable for solving the layout problem of the garment sewing workshop in practice, shortening the production cycle, and reducing the production cost. A variety of assembly line layout schemes are provided for apparel manufacturers in this paper. Apparel manufacturers can select the appropriate assembly line layout based on the actual conditions of the workshop and product.

Traceability has emerged as a prime requirement for a multi-tier and multi-site production. It enables visibility and caters to the consumer requirements of transparency and quality assurance. Textile and clothing industry is one such example that requires traceability implementation to address prevailing problems of information asymmetry and low visibility. Customers find it difficult to access product data that can facilitate ethical buying practices or assure product authenticity. Besides, it is challenging for stakeholders to share crucial information in an insecure environment with risk of data manipulations and fear of losing information advantage. In this context, this study investigates and proposes a blockchain-based traceability framework for traceability in multi- tier textile and clothing supply chain. It conceptualizes the interaction of supply chain partners, and related network architecture at the organizational level and smart contract and transaction validation rules at the operational level. To illustrate the application of the proposed framework, the study presents an example of organic cotton supply chain using blockchain with customized smart contract and transaction rules. It finally demonstrates the applicability of the developed blockchain by testing it under two parameters. The proposed system can build a technology-based trust among the supply chain partners, where the distributed ledger can be used to store and authenticate supply chain transactions. Further, the blockchain-based traceability system would provide a unique opportunity, flexibility, and authority to all partners to trace-back their supply network and create transparent and sustainable supply chain. QC 20210326QC 20210505

Significant efforts have been made so far to improve the overall performance of female soft body armor. However, still designing female soft body armor which accommodates the bust area for different women morphological differences with good comfort, fitness, and better ballistic protection is in its great demand. This research paper presents an efficient reverse engineering approach (2D-3D-2D pattern generation) for developing appropriate 2D patterns from 3D female adaptive virtual mannequin for female soft body armor seamless front panel. The method was mainly used to attain the required bust volume in the pattern by eliminating the involvement of darts and another design element. Before the process, using computer-aided design (CAD), parameterization has been applied to develop a female model with an adaptive bust from a scanned body. The method starts with identifying the different strategic anthropometric points on the front body side contours of adaptive mannequin using specific 90B size bust cup. Based on these points, delimiting of the outer contour of the pattern has been done. Later, horizontal (weft) and vertical (warp) projection grids in front of the virtual mannequin were marked to generate block pattern using curve measurement from the body couture, while during projection, an accurate measurement using precise projection system and bust points has been considered. Finally, the material deformation has been also analyzed using classical 3D-to-2D flattened pattern. The result shows that the new flattened pattern reveals better shape to accommodate the deformation with low distortion throughout the fabric surface while flattening. This will later greatly help to keep similar fabric distribution throughout the panel and give better ballistic protection, fit-ensured, and good comfort for the wearer.

Sensory investigations of the functional textiles could be an alternative for the quality inspection and control of the products. The purpose of this research is to use subjective evaluation technique for assessing the tactile comfort of some functional textile fabrics based on AATCC Evaluation procedure 5-2011. Blind subjective evaluations and visual subjective evaluations were performed for sensory investigation. Ten fabric-skin-contact and comfort-related sensory properties were used to evaluate the handle of the functional textile fabrics. The reliability of the sensorial data obtained by subjective tests was evaluated using statistical data analysis techniques. A minimum and maximum consensus distances recorded were 0.58 and 1.61, respectively, using a descriptive sensory panel analysis and proves the consistency and similar sensorial perception between panelists. The Pearson correlation coefficient between panelists was up to 96% and hence a strong agreement between the panelist’s judgment. The results allowed to consider the subjective evaluation using a panel of experts could be validated in the case of functional fabrics. For functional textiles, additional visual subjective evaluation should be considered to have a similar human perception in addition to blind subjective evaluation.

Electroluminescence (EL) is the property of a semiconductor material pertaining to emitting light in response to an electrical current or a strong electric field. The purpose of this paper is to de ...

Trying virtual garments on a virtual body has become widespread in the design industry as a result of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) system and progress in body measurement systems. Spending less time and cost compared to traditional methods of garment design is the main benefit of design software development. Moreover, it leads to improved garment fitting on the body which fulfills customer desires. In the present study, a parametric graphical method was utilized to develop a 3D virtual mannequin for the pregnancy period. The former, the 3D adaptive mannequin model was predicted based on a woman&rsquo, s weight by analyzing body morphology evolution of a pregnant woman. The mannequin was verified by the results of another pregnant body. Then, the developed mannequin based on weight gain during maternity was applied to design a garment block pattern. The virtual try-on of the developed garment block pattern suggested that it was well-fitted on the 3D virtual mannequin while two armpit darts and two elastic seams were allocated. Hence, the developed garment block pattern will be used to make a personalized protective garment in our future work using an electromagnetic shielding woven fabric formerly manufactured by our group.

With the rapid increase of personalized garment requirements, intelligent garment design has attracted more and more attention. The study reported in this paper concentrates on the modularized design method of garments in order to provide theoretical support for intelligent garment design. The proposed modularized design method consists of composition and transformation of garment parts as well as their configuration and connection. There are two categories of garment parts: essential parts and non-essential parts, each of which is determined by their key design attributes. Rules of transformation for garment parts were analyzed by classification of transformation rules. Binary decision variables were introduced to decide if garment parts should be selected. A mathematical model was developed to analyze constraints of garment parts connection.

The scarcity of natural resources and the problem of pollution have initiated the need for extending the life and use of existing products. The concept of the reverse supply chain provides an opportunity to recover value from discarded products. The potential for recovery and the improvement of value in the reverse supply chain of apparel has been barely studied. In this research, a novel modularized redesign model is developed and applied to the garment redesign process. The concept of modularization is used to extract parts from the end-of-use or end-of-life of products. The extracted parts are reassembled or reconstructed with the help of a proposed group genetic algorithm by using domain and industry-specific knowledge. Design fitness is calculated to achieve the optimal redesign. Subsequently, the practical relevance of the model is investigated with the help of an industrial case in Sweden. The case study finding reveals that the proposed method and model to calculate the design fitness could simplify the redesign process. The design fitness calculation is illustrated with the example of a polo t-shirt. The redesigned system-based modularization is in accordance with the practical situations because of its flexibility and viability to formulate redesign decisions. The grouping genetic algorithm could enable fast redesign decisions for designers.

The present paper aims to explore the current clothes reuse business in order to develop a charity-driven model for the reuse-based clothing value chain. An exploratory study was carried out in Sweden to understand the business flow of clothes reuse. This study builds on the insights gained from the multiple charities involved in the reuse-based clothing value chain. Semi-structured interviews along with direct and participatory observation were used for data collection. In the current study of Swedish charities, the founders and senior managers of the organizations were interviewed. This paper provides several insights in the form of propositions and a model related to different drivers of the reuse-based clothing value chain. In this model, business factors (system, legislation, and awareness), product factors (design, quality, and price), and consumer attitude as donor/buyer are found to be key drivers. Product design, quality, and price depend upon clothes brand, construction, and material, which are collectively important for the sale of used products. In the future, researchers are encouraged to test the present set of propositions and the proposed model across different cultural settings. The model can serve as a framework for practitioners and will be helpful for designing business strategies based on the different factors identified in this study.

In many textile applications stitching process is one of the widely used methods to join the multi-layer fabric plies not only due to its easy applicability and flexible production but also provide structural integrity throughout-the-thickness of materials. In this research, the influences of stitching pattern on various molding characteristics of multi-layer 2D para-aramid plain woven fabrics while deformation was investigated. The fabrics were made of high performance fiber with 930dtex yarn linear density and fabric areal density of 200gm/m2. First, different stitch pattern (orientation) was applied for joining the mentioned multi-layered fabrics keeping other stitching parameters such as stitch gap, stitch thread tension, stitch length, stitch type, stitch thread type etc. constant throughout the study. Then, a pneumatic based molding device with a low speed forming process specially designed for preforming of textile with a predefined hemispherical shape of punch. The result shows that stitching pattern is one of the parameter that influences the different molding behavior and should be consider while molding stitched multi-layer fabrics.

Tactile comfort has a strong relation with low-stress mechanical properties of textilefabrics having close contact with the human skin. In this work, we attempt to analyse the lowstressmechanical properties of the functional knitted fabric obtained using Kawabata’s fabricevaluation system (KES-FB). The measured results were compared with those of the controlledpolyester fabric. The bending ability of the product increased from 0.2448 to 0.8010gf.cm2/cmand hence the rigidity influenced when copper yarn is introduced. However, thecompressibility increased from 0.173 to 0.449gf.cm/cm2 and hence the compressibility slightlyboosted. The surface roughness (SMD) highly increased from 7.196 to 14.258 μm. It wasobserved that the incorporation of conductive copper yarn during knitting brought an effect onthe tactile comfort of the fabrics and reduced by 69%. The overall comfort properties of theconductive textile fabric were reduced due to the introduction of copper yarn during knittingoperations. Focus should be given when functional fabric developed which has close contact tothe human skin. Quality inspection and evaluation of functional or smart textile fabric surface by skin contact mechanics

As fashion mass customization has been developing rapidly in the recent decade, supply chain in apparel industry was required to be more flexible for meeting the need of quick response toward the dynamic changes in the fashion market. Forecast-based make-to-stock production strategy was not suitable anymore. Make-to-order strategy was employed by more and more apparel companies. However, there were still many defects in traditional make-to-order apparel supply chain, e.g., sustainability is still at a low level. In this study, we proposed a collaborative cloud service platform to develop a novel model of sustainable make-to-order apparel supply chain. A service provider selection heuristic was designed for this platform to optimally select suppliers corresponding to each received demand. Multi-agent-based simulation technology was utilized to build the proposed platform and to evaluate the new sustainable supply chain model. Experiment was conducted in the simulation to compare our new model to traditional apparel make-to-order model and model with outsourcing mechanism. Based on simulation results, the remarkable improvement in terms of sustainability of the proposed platform and corresponding supply chain model was demonstrated.

Sustainability is a widely recognized concern and priority for healthy growth of the society and for preservation of the planet. Concerning this, textile sector has seen an unprecedented demand for sustainable products from the consumers, responding to which organizations have undertaken different initiatives. One of the major concerns in the textile sector is its complex supply chain networks and the involvement of numerous actors dealing with diverse raw materials and operations. The effective implementation of sustainability at the industrial scale would require the participation of all supply chain actors, along with an efficient traceability system to monitor and analyze different sustainability aspects. Furthermore, traceability is an integral part of the recycling process which contributes towards the sustainability. Therefore, the present article focuses on the contribution of traceable information towards attaining the sustainability in the textile sector. The three pillars of sustainability, namely, ecological, societal, and economic, are discussed for their relation and dependency on the traceability followed by an overview of the challenges in successful implementation of the traceability system, which is anticipated to shape the future research questions.

An epicanthal fold is common in the eyelids of Orientals, weakening the aesthetic appearance of blepharoplasty. Many techniques have been designed to eliminate the epicanthal fold and create a beautiful palpebral fissure with less scarring produced in the medial canthus. However, many of these procedures were designed to correct the epicanthus completely and create an out-type of palpebral fold, which leaves a minor scar in the epicanthus and an unnatural eye appearance. Thus, based on dynamic mechanisms, a beautiful design of the epicanthus, and a double fold in most Asian people, a new modified Z-plasty procedure combined with blepharoplasty to create an in-type of palpebral fissure was performed for 873 patients in our hospital from September 2006 to November 2010. The procedure showed good and natural results in most Asian patients. No recurrence of the epicanthal fold and no scarring of the medial canthus were found during a 6-month follow-up period. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

This paper outlines the quality inspection strategies in a supplier–buyer supply chain under a customer return policy. This paper primarily focuses on product quality and quality inspection techniques to maximize the actors’ and supply chain’s profits using game theory approach. The supplier–buyer setup is described in terms of textile manufacturer–retailer supply chain where quality inspection is an important aspect and the product return from the customer is generally accepted. Textile manufacturer produces the product, whereas, retailer acts as a reseller who buys the products from the textile manufacturer and sells them to the customers. In this context, the former invests in the product quality whereas the latter invests in the random quality inspection and traceability. The relationships between the textile manufacturer and the retailer are recognized as horizontal and vertical alliances and modeled using non-cooperative and cooperative games. The non-cooperative games are based on the Stackelberg and Nash equilibrium models. Further, bargaining and game change scenarios have been discussed to maximize the profit under different games. To understand the appropriateness of a strategic alliance, a computational study demonstrates textile manufacturer–retailer relation under different game scenarios.

When developing mass customized products, human perception on products, including consumer’s and design expert’s perception, should be integrated into the process of design. So in this paper, we originally propose a fashion decision support system for supporting designer’s work. In this system, we first characterize and acquire fashion expert perception and consumer perception on human body shapes. Next, these perceptual data are formalized and analyzed using the intelligent techniques, such as fuzzy set theory, decision tree, and fuzzy cognitive map. The complex relations between these perceptions as well as the physical measurements of body shapes are modeled, leading to the criteria which will permit to determine if a new design style is feasible or not for a given fashion theme. The proposed system is aimed to support customized design and mass market selection in practice.

This paper presents a method permitting to determine the relationship between body measurements and human perception on morphology of body shapes, expressed by a set of emotional descriptors and fashion themes. It can be integrated into current garment CAD system for providing personalized design support. Two procedures of sensory evaluation have been used. The first one aims at evaluating abstract fashion themes by means of emotional descriptors. In this procedure, the evaluators, including fashion designers and consumers, will give relevancy degrees between fashion themes and emotional descriptors. A fuzzy cognitive map is introduced to represent the corresponding results. It can be considered as a conceptual model characterizing the cognition level of evaluators on abstract fashion themes. The other procedure aims at evaluating the previous emotional descriptors on human body shapes according to the corresponding body measurements. A set of decision trees have been established to model the relation between the emotional descriptors and the human body measurements. It can be considered as a empirical model obtained from learning data.

This paper presents a model characterising the relation between emotional descriptive keywords describing human body shapes and concrete body measurements. Three procedures have been proposed for building this model. In the first procedure, the experts generate a list of emotional descriptors describing human body shapes and then evaluate a set of virtual human bodies of different shapes using these descriptors. Next, two algorithms of decision tree (CART and fuzzy-ID3) have been applied for modelling the relation between each emotional descriptor and the ratios of relevant body measurements. In the second procedure, the experts evaluate the relationship between these concrete emotional descriptors and a number of abstract fashion themes such as ‘sporty’ and ‘attractive’ without taking into account any specific human body shape. This conceptual relationship given by different experts is modelled using a fuzzy cognitive map. In the third procedure, the two previous models are combined using the fuzzy relation operations. Using this combined model, garment designers can quickly identify personalised and variable body shapes, expressed by a set of concrete and abstract keywords, from human body measurements. These keywords will be further integrated into an expert knowledge base of garment design for developing personalised new products.