ABSTRACT
Covid - 19 has affected global value chains (GVCs) and firms' behaviours within GVCs to a large extent. Firms need to find flexible solutions to stabilize production and rethink value chain governance and supplier relationships. Thus, GVCs recover from the initial shock, and the GVCs reconfiguration becomes essential for managers. We reviewed recent literature focusing on the GVCs, the role of governance and Covid - 19 effects on it as well as the regionalization trend. Thus, this study aims to give empirical evidence on the reconfiguration of GVCs, particularly the changes in the structure of suppliers in the global apparel industry, by using the Bloomberg Supply Chain Analysis tool in the period of 2017- 2021. We analysed the structural changes in selected leading apparel multinational companies' GVCs - Industria de Diseno Textil, S.A. (Inditex), Hennes & Mauritz AB (H & M) and adidas AG. The findings provide insights on the current state of the theoretically discussed and widely expected regionalization trend in GVCs. The study concludes that two out of three cases provide evidence indicating an ongoing trend toward GVCs regionalization. The contribution of this study consists of empirical evidence of the changes in GVCs supplier structure in the apparel industry in response to pandemic global business environment. Practical implications and recommendations for businesses and policy makers are related to the revealed theories and testable models by using Bloomberg's Supply Chain Analysis data and linking causes and effects of the GVCs regionalization processes.
ABSTRACT
Living conditions in today's metropolitan cities shorten the time it takes for individuals to do sports. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of the home office environment has increased, causing physical activities to be moved to the indoor environment. The home environment has brought people's desire for socialization, physical activity, reduction of anxiety levels, and psychological relaxation to the fore even more. The epidemic, which still continues after the closure of more than two years, has expanded the use of casual clothes in the field of formal wear. Employees at the global level have turned to the use of leisure clothing, which provides more comfort than in the past. Depending on this demand, production has also gained momentum in the global sports ready-to-wear industry. This study aims to determine the ready-made clothing products preferred by individuals who regularly do sports and compare them with global data. The data of the research, in which the descriptive method was selected, was collected from structured questionnaires and literature data. The study group consisted of 208 people who volunteered to participate in the research and whose answers were accepted as valid, among the people who regularly do sports in the four big cities of Turkey (Bursa, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir). Some of the data were collected over the internet due to the epidemic, and some of the data were collected through face-to-face interviews in gyms. Descriptive statistics applied data show similarities with global-based apparel market data. Individuals do sports to stay physically and mentally healthy and socialize. Indoor sports halls and houses are the most preferred places for sports activities, and the most preferred clothing products are t-shirts, tracksuits, and undershirt/singlet. The findings have been interpreted comparatively with the global data. It has been tried to reveal the future-oriented data for the product groups and market segments of the companies.
ABSTRACT
The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a huge demand for the protective nonwovens. However, the main raw material of nonwovens comes from petroleum, and the massive consumption of petroleum-based polymers brings great pressure to ecosystem. Therefore, it is significant to develop biodegradable protective barrier products. In this work, a polylactic-based composite (a tri-layer nonwovens composed of spunbond, meltblown and spunbond, SMS) was prepared and applied for protective apparel. The surface morphology and chemical changes of the fibers were characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The liquid contact angle and permeability, breathability and moisture permeability, frictional charge and mechanical strength of the samples were evaluated and compared. The samples degradability was also recorded. The results demonstrate that the optimum formula for anti-fouling treatment on SMS is F-30. The treated fabric possesses superior liquid repellency and anti-permeability, with contact angles of water and alcohol at 128° and 115° respectively, while the alcohol repellent grade reaches level 7. The treated sample has less strength loss but exhibits favorable breathability, moisture permeability and anti-static properties, which can meet the requirements of protective apparels. After fluorine resin coating, the composite still provide excellent degradation performance, and the weight loss rate reaches more than 80% after 10 days water degradation. These results provide new insights for the application of PLA-based SMS in biodegradable protective apparel. © 2023 The Textile Institute.
ABSTRACT
Based on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive dissonance theory, regulatory focus theory, and the compensatory consumer behavior model, we proposed and tested a conceptual model delineating the relationships between COVID-19-stress, commitment to the environment, and intentions for sustainable apparel consumption in terms of intentions for purchasing sustainable apparel and divesting apparel (e.g., handing down or donating apparel). Conducting an online survey (n = 312) with the national millennial population of the U.S., we found that COVID-19-stress positively influenced (i) commitment to the environment and (ii) purchase intentions for sustainable apparel;commitment to the environment positively influenced (iii) purchase intentions for sustainable apparel and (iv) intentions for divesting apparel. Although COVID-19-stress did not influence intentions for divesting apparel directly, commitment to the environment mediated the relationships between COVID-19-stress and both purchase intentions for sustainable apparel and intentions for divesting apparel. We suggest that COVID-19-stress triggered self-regulatory sustainable apparel consumption intentions due to a heightened commitment to the environment to protect the environment amid the pandemic. Based on the findings of our study, we recommend the sustainable apparel brands and marketers promote how sustainable apparel consumption can protect the environment to make the environment and human beings less susceptible to the future outbreaks of pandemics.
ABSTRACT
This paper provides an assessment of the skills needed for entry-level logistics professionals in Bangladesh's apparel industry and suggests the critical skill areas that require improvement. Two studies were conducted to get the responses from supply chain and logistics professionals who have direct interactions with entry-level logistics professionals in the workplace. In study 1, an Importance-Expertise Matrix (IEM) analysis was conducted to provide an assessment of the relative importance and expertise of 40 skill items and investigate the skill gaps. The results reveal that 27.5% of the skill items have a noticeable gap between their importance and expertise level, indicating further improvement is needed. In Study 2, a qualitative approach was used, and the findings reinforced those of Study 1 and offered new and important information about skill and knowledge requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This research offers implications for the apparel industry, academia, policymakers, and training agencies in Bangladesh.
ABSTRACT
Digital technologies enable apparel manufacturers to unlock solutions for new product development (NPD) challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. A Product Configurator (PC) is the key to Mass Customization (MC) as it can employ to elicit customer requirements, which is essential in successful NPD. Even though some online PCs exist in apparel retail and product development, no one could gather customer requirements and deploy them in the NPD. This paper conceptualizes a Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based PC on eliciting customer requirements based on a systematic literature review and a basic concept of Design Space Analysis. Finally, it is contended that this knowledge can apply in relevant software development to modernize apparel design, development and online retail. © 2023 The authors and IOS Press.
ABSTRACT
[...]there is apparel for sale that has a limited lifespan and is deemed disposable (Gözet, B., and Wilts, H., 2022). [...]the sector has faced challenges such as increased production costs, energy tariffs, pricing, a lack of raw materials, obsolete technology, and a lack of investment. The country is shifting from exporting raw materials to value-added products, with significant increases in exports of readymade garments, knitwear, bedwear, towels, and cotton textiles. [...]global input cost increases and currency rate changes have increased the export sector's working capital needs (Goheer, 2022).
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe supply disruptions and revenue losses, especially for buyers highly dependent on foreign suppliers. Unsurprisingly, scholars and industry experts claim that high dependence on any exchange partner is detrimental to buyers. The literature, however, is ambivalent about whether supply base concentration—the number of sources in a firm's supply base and the degree of importance of each source—benefits or harms buyers. Our study addresses this ambivalence by investigating whether supply base concentration, conceptualized as supplier concentration, supplier country concentration, and carrier concentration, worsens or mitigates the impact of supply disruptions as they unfold over time. We use longitudinal data from ocean bills of lading to examine these relationships in the context of U.S. buyers importing apparel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that higher pre-disruption supplier concentration and supplier country concentration helped buyers mitigate the impact of supply disruptions related to COVID-19, with diminishing effects once supplier and supplier country concentration exceeded specific inflection points. Conversely, higher pre-disruption carrier diversification helped buyers mitigate the impact of supply disruptions related to COVID-19. Notably, these effects depend on the specific phase of the supply disruption. We discuss implications for research and practice. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
ABSTRACT
Humans have been exploiting the environmental resources as much as the environment today stands in crisis. There has become an urgent need of aligning profits with peace and prosperity of people and planet. In the race of economic growth and development, the disparity between social, economic and environment has aroused. The impact of Covid-19 pandemic further has highlighted the sustainable growth to be considered for a better future. Also, viewing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, there needs to be responsible consumption and production. Sustainability is the greatest challenge faced by the apparel industry. The industry, running on the adrenaline of glamor, pricing and pace, has recently realized that the old systems and processes cannot sustain, but there are not enough new systems and processes to replace. We are facing redundancies in an empty-handed way. Green manufacturing is an inevitable future. The paper explores key aspects of green manufacturing from apparel industries perspective, noting down the innovation and entrepreneurial solutions to the problems, identifying gaps and future scope. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
The year 2020 will be forever remembered in the textile industry for one overriding reason - the Covid-19 pandemic. Since March, industries across the entire textile supply chain have been rocked by factory closures, market declines, trade restrictions and the postponement of many of the trade shows that usually populate the textile calendar. WTiN's Innovate Textile & Apparel virtual trade show was first established to bring together a fragmented industry. The show opened its virtual doors to give an exhibition platform for companies from all areas of the supply chain to exhibit, showcase and even premiere some of the innovative products that had been in the pipeline for the cancelled trade shows. Dyeing and finishing was the most popular exhibitor sector at the trade show, illustrating the industry's adaptive nature, popularity and prominence in textile innovation. In total, 42 companies had selected the sector as their primary tag in the trade show portal, each of which promoted a collection of unique products and solutions. © 2020 World Textile Information Network. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to synthesize the extant literature on augmented reality and virtual reality in the apparel industry using bibliometric and network visualization techniques. This paper also highlights the existing gaps in the literature and sets out the future research trajectory.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigated research articles in the domain of augmented and virtual reality in the apparel industry to assess global trends in research production in this area, and top contributors to research by way of authors, journals, countries and institutions. The study carried out an analysis of 239 research articles from the Scopus database during the period 1995 to 2021. The study used open-source bibliometric tools such as Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to analyze the research literature over the search period and also identify emerging research avenues.FindingsThe bibliometric analysis reveals that there is significant interest in this research domain. A total of 673 authors contributed to the 239 research articles analyzed and the number of multi-author documents exceeded those by single authors. Research in this domain is led by China with the maximum number of articles in the data set followed by the USA and France. However, the USA has received the highest number of citations. Donghua University from China is the largest contributor to research in this domain with 13 articles in the data set. The keyword co-occurrence analysis indicates that "virtual reality” has the most number of co-occurrences and linkages with other keywords. Other important keywords include "augmented reality,” "virtual try-on” and "cloth simulation.” The network visualization exercise also revealed significant collaboration between different countries in this research domain.Practical implicationsThe gaps highlighted in this study will act as a reference point for researchers to conduct future studies in the field of augmented and virtual reality in apparel industry. Practitioners will also gain a comprehensive understanding of this research domain.Originality/valueThis study, to the best of the authors' knowledge, is the first attempt to integrate the disjoint literature of augmented and virtual reality in apparel industry through a mapping of the intellectual structure of this research domain. The study also contributes by way of providing a snapshot of future research avenues in the knowledge domain of augmented and virtual reality in the apparel industry.
ABSTRACT
PurposeThis study prioritizes the supply chain risks (SCRs) and determines risk mitigation strategies (RMSs) for the Indian apparel industry to mitigate the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption.Design/methodology/approachInitially, 23 SCRs within the apparel industry are identified through an extant literature review. Further, a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) is utilized to prioritize the SCRs considering the epidemic situations to understand the criticality of SCRs and determine appropriate RMSs to mitigate the shock of SCRs during COVID-19.FindingsThis study prioritized and ranked the SCRs within the Indian apparel industry based on their severity during the COVID-19 disruption. Results indicate that the demand uncertainty and pandemic disruption risks are the most critical. Based on the SCRs, the present work evaluated and suggested the flexibility and postponement mitigation strategies for the case under study.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has novel implications to the existing literature on supply chain risk management in the form of the FAHP framework. Supply chain practitioners from the other industrial sectors can extend the proposed FAHP framework to assess the SCRs and identify suitable mitigation strategies. The results aid the practitioners working in an apparel industry to benchmark and deploy the proposed RMSs in their firm.Originality/valueThe present study is a unique and earlier attempt to develop a quantitative framework using FAHP to evaluate and determine the risk mitigation strategy for managing the SCRs during the coronavirus epidemic.
ABSTRACT
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) training has become essential in apparel education as it is widely applied in design and development activities in the industry. This study presents how physical CAD teaching converted to remote delivery during the emergency COVID-19 pandemic using online technologies. This study evaluated five distinct methods adopted in this period: online Zoom sessions, pre-recorded practical demonstrations, guided hand-outs, online collaborative learning methods and forum discussions using Moodle. TeamViewer application was utilised for real-time remote access and support during teaching. This study instrumented two online questionnaires intended to assess the effectiveness of online hands-on sessions and collaborative learning in a remote online environment. This study was conducted with 58 participants at a recognised Sri Lankan state university. More importantly, the results confirmed the feasibility of collaborative engagement within the online learning environment. This study discovered students' pref-erences for synchronous teaching and learning approaches. Also, it revealed the limitations of remote CAD teaching using online technologies. Finally, this study underlined the success of the collaborative learning approach and students' perspectives on flipped classroom model for apparel CAD training. © 2023 R.K.J. De Silva and A. Peramunugamage. Research in Learning Technology is the journal of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT), a UK-based professional and scholarly society and membership organisation.
ABSTRACT
Apart from the many social and health problems it has caused, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on most sectors of the economy worldwide. One of the areas where such impact is noticeable is the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) industry. The lockdowns and limited access to retailer outlets resulted in a considerable drop in consumption, creating problems related to the excess of stock, the decrease of sales, and the disposal of non-used items. This paper outlines the implications of the COVID-19 on the TAF sectors and European retailers. It analyzes how the current supply chains exacerbated stock control problems, and it reports on the changes in consumption during the pandemic. The worldwide restrictive measures implemented to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for significant profit losses. Also, the decrease in consumption, caused by several geographically wide lockdowns, prompted a subsequent reduction in orders and sales, resulting in a significant number of constraints. The implementation of more environmentally friendly processes, including sustainable circularity as a competitiveness source to keep the TAF sectors in the loop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may help address the problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the sustainability context, as reported in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022.
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The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of Covid-19 on the intention to purchase online fashion clothing. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 231 customers in an online survey. The researchers utilised exploratory factor analysis to uncover the most important elements that influence customer behaviour while purchasing online fashion items. Multiple regression study revealed that situational variables, practical motive, and safety and precaution had a positive and substantial influence on customers' online buy intention for fashion items. Hedonic incentive, on the other hand, had a minor impact, despite being beneficial on purpose. A structured questionnaire was shared with the respondents for data collection. The Questionnaire was floated between individuals who purchase fashion apparel online. The questions assessing the four predictors were first subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. Second, multiple regression was used to determine the influence of these variables on online purchase intentions among customers.
ABSTRACT
This research paper aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volatility patterns and its global implication for the textile industry in China. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a global health crisis with profound economic, social and financial implications, but also has triggered a ruthless global recession. The global economic recovery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic can also generate significant investment opportunities for the textile industry in China. In this paper, the application of empirical methods could explain historical prices, the movement dynamics of financial assets, and investigate various important characteristics of asset pricing that explore details of the Chinese stock market. The econometric framework includes the following: symmetric Generalize Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic GARCH (1, 1) model, asymmetric GARCH models such as EGARCH and GJR models. The main aim is to identify the asymmetric volatility effect, and impact of news on the SSE Composite Index and investigate long memory properties in volatility using daily data for the sample period from 19th December 1990 to 31st December 2020. This empirical study contributes to the existing literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international stock markets, by investigating symmetric and asymmetric volatility patterns in the case of the Shanghai Stock Exchange from China.
ABSTRACT
The Sri Lankan apparel industry accounts for 7% of the country's GDP and employs 15% of its workforce. Frightening levels of the spread of Coronsvirus-19 (COVID-19) have captured the attention of the apparel industry not only locally but globally. During this epidemic crisis, identifying the factors that affect the employees' workplace burden in the apparel industry is vital to the GDP of a country like Sri Lanka, as the economy of the country relies on growth in the Sri Lankan apparel sector. Each workplace burden has a distinct impact on employees' job performance. The objective of this study is to determine how the intensity of the COVID-19 epidemic affects employees' workplace burden and performance. Thereby assisting policymakers in responding to how to overcome the workplace burdens of the employees during this epidemic crisis. A mixed research approach, with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, was used in the research. Considering the past literature and the industry experts' opinions, factors related to workforce burden due to COVID-19 were identified and categorised into four categories. Partial Least Square (PLS) was used to analyse the relationship between the workforce burden factors and employee performance during the COVID-19 pandemic period. As the ultimate findings under the data analysis, exposure to COVID-19 and workplace preparation and work-related relationships have a significant positive impact on employees' performance. The workload has a significant negative impact on the behaviour and results-based employees' performance that has no significant impact on trait-based performance. Job-related uncertainty in the future has no significant impact on employees' performance. Improving workplace safety regulations, developing online employee interactions, and increasing immediate management attention to employees are some of the suggestions to mitigate identified workplace burdens. The findings of this study related to the factors affecting workplace burdens must be addressed promptly by policymakers or employers in the Sri Lankan apparel sector to improve employees' performance and, ultimately, industry performance. The outcome of this research would be useful in the future when a pandemic situation arises. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Many apparel retailing brands use e-service marketing tools such as a chatbot (a system that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to increase their competitive advantage in today's world of digitalization. During the COVID-19 pandemic, chatbots gained more power to serve as a communication tool that provides information and maintains customer experience. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the influence of chatbot e-service agents' marketing efforts (involving interaction, entertainment, trendiness, and problem-solving) on Thai customers' perceived communication credibility and satisfaction in apparel retailing, as research in this area is limited. In order to test the hypotheses, the paper employed structural equation modeling using Amos. In addition, an online survey of 400 Thai consumers who had previously used chatbots in the apparel retailing industry was conducted. The results showed that chatbot e-service marketing efforts, including interaction, trendiness, and problem-solving, affected customer satisfaction without entertainment elements. Beyond this, a chatbot, viewing interaction and entertainment, was found to have an insignificant effect on communication credibility. Thus, the coefficient value proved that information regarding communication credibility is more dominant in customer satisfaction. Therefore, the chatbot e-service marketing effort is essential in motivating communication credibility in customer satisfaction. These findings delivered managerial implications for understanding consumers in the field of digitalization.