ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aims to contribute to the debate on the efficacy of softer regulations to prevent violations of workers' rights in the global clothing supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: This study draws on value trap and adverse incorporations as a theoretical lens to understand the reasons behind the continued violations of workers' rights. The empirical findings are based on an analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews with workers and owners. Extensive documentary evidence to track the plight of workers in Bangladeshi clothing factories during the pandemic. Findings: The study demonstrates how imbalances in supply chain relationships allow retailers to take advantage of the pandemic. The authors find that some retailers worsened the working conditions by cancelling orders, demanding discounts on old orders and forcing suppliers to agree to a lower price for new orders. Large brands and retailers' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic remind us that softer regulations, such as third-party audits, are likely to be ineffective given the power imbalance at the heart of the supply chain. Practical implications: The study presents a case for regulatory frameworks and intense stakeholder activism to encourage large retailers and brands to behave responsibly. This is especially important when a supply chain is value-trapped and workers are adversely incorporated and unprotected. Originality/value: Drawing on studies on adverse incorporations, value-trapped supply chains and the plight of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study offers a broader understanding of the continued violation of workers' rights and the efficacy of softer regulations. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
As the healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues, providing enhanced protection to frontline healthcare personnel exposed to aerosolized infectious material is essential. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus across the globe in early 2020 generated an overwhelming surge in demand for effective personal protective equipment (PPE), in particular, passive personal respirators (PPR). Global manufacturing of PPR was limited, and research and development of improved respirators were restricted by the availability of accredited laboratories for timely testing at the peak of the pandemic. The authors have described a clinical method of safety and efficacy testing of a new PPR, the TopBioShield, using portable capnography for the measurement of end-tidal pCO2 (ETCO2) and bedside pulse oximetry to measure oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiratory rate (RR), and heart rate (HR) in healthy volunteers to overcome shortages of clinical testing capabilities during the height of the pandemic. Twenty-eight volunteers with a median age of 41 years (range 16–71) representing all 10 subgroups of head/face size were included. Only one participant asked to withdraw due to a feeling of claustrophobia after 30 min. Clinical monitoring while wearing TopBioShield revealed ETCO2, SpO2, respiratory rate, and heart rate measurements were within normal limits in all the subjects throughout the experiment. Bedside clinical monitoring is effective in demonstrating the physiological safety of PPR and is an important alternative to conventional mannequin testing. In this study all measured values over a 90-min experiment period were within normal limits, demonstrating the effectiveness of TopBioShield in preventing CO2 retention. Clinical testing methods must adhere to the highest standards and are essential during times of shortage. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).
ABSTRACT
Corona Virus (COVID-19) is a virus that is endemic almost all over the world, including Indonesia. COVID-19 was first confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and then rapidly expanded outside of China. To suppress the Covid-19 case, medical volunteers are needed as the main actors in efforts to handle Covid-19 patients. This makes health care facilities also need to focus on the principles of health worker safety, not only focus on the principles of patient safety. This also makes health care facilities also need to focus on the principles of health worker safety, not only focus on the principles of patient safety. The use of hazmat clothes is one of the efforts to protect health workers when in contact with Covid-19 patients. Hazmat clothes are technically referred to as "encapsulated waterproof protective clothing” which is PPE that must be used for officers from the risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus through airborne droplets and contact with patients and patient body fluids. Although hazmat clothing is an important PPE for health workers to stay protected, the use of hazmat clothing for a long time often makes medical personnel feel uncomfortable when providing services. Based on the problems above, the researchers conducted a study on the heat pipe - thermoelectric hazmat suit cooling vest. This technology can absorb more heat than other methods by simply applying the principle of capillarity to the wicks on the pipe walls. schematic of testing a cooling vest on a hazmat suit. The loading on the thermoelectric is given through the DC - Power supply. The temperature data read by the sensor will be detected by the computer system using the NI 9123 and C-DAQ 9174 modules. The test results can be viewed using the NI LabView 2017 software. The temperature used in this experiment is the result of tests carried out for 30 min. Based on the tests that have been carried out, the heat pipe-based thermoelectric hazmat suit cooling vest has been able to reach the lowest thermoelectric temperature of 24,42 ∘C, which is distributed through heat pipes to body parts. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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.
ABSTRACT
With the emergence of the COVID-19, masks and protective clothing have been used in huge quantities. A large number of non-degradable materials have severely damaged the ecological environment. Now, people are increasingly pursuing the use of environmentally friendly materials to replace traditional chemical materials. Silk fibroin (SF) and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) have received increasing attention because of their unique biodegradability and biocompatibility. In this paper, a series of biodegradable SF/PHBV nanofiber membranes with different PHBV content were fabricated by using electrospinning technology. The morphology of the electrospun SF/PHBV composite nanofiber was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average diameters of the pure SF, SF/PHBV (4/1), SF/PHBV (3/1), and SF/PHBV (2/1) nanofibers were 55.16 ± 12.38 nm, 75.93 ± 21.83 nm, 69.35 ± 21.55 nm, and 61.40 ± 12.31 nm, respectively. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to explore the microstructure of the electrospun SF/PHBV composite nanofiber. The crystallization ability of the composite nanofiber was greatly improved with the addition of PHBV. The results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the thermal stability of SF was better than PHBV obviously, so SF could improve the thermal stability of the composite materials within a certain range. The mechanical properties of the electrospun nanofiber membranes were evaluated by using a universal testing machine. In general, the elongation of the composite nanofiber membranes decreased, and the breaking strength increased with the addition of PHBV. The small pore size of the nanofiber membranes ensured that they had good application prospects in the field of filtration and protection. When the spinning time was 1 h, the filtration efficiency of SF/PHBV/PLA composite materials remained above 95%. © 2021 The Textile Institute.
ABSTRACT
Sustainable fashion is clothing that is ethically produced and environmentally beneficial, whereas rapid fashion is the polar opposite in terms of sustainability. We know that circular business models can drive value by improving customer attention and possession. Due of its environmental impact, fashion experts believe that "there is no such thing as 100 percent sustainable fashion. "During the Covid-19 crisis, this trend became notably apparent, with two-thirds of surveyed European customers admitting that minimizing climate change impacts had become increasingly essential to them. The future of Sustainability in Fast Fashion concept and concern with the Consumers Behavior where circular business models are incorporated to increase the efficiencies of system to reduce inputs and decrease the amount or flow of material & garments in the system to reduce waste. The current study focuses on sustainability in fast fashion in the textile industry, with a focus on five imperatives: prioritize based on market segment, match the business model to the product, get the incentives right, make sustainable and pilot and experiment © 2022, Man Made Textiles in India. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>The concept of sustainable development (SD) is a popular response to society's need to preserve and extend the life span of natural resources. One of the 17 goals of the SD is "education quality” (Fourth Goal of Sustainable Development [SDG-4]). Education quality is an important goal because education is a powerful force that can influence social policies and social change. The SDG-4 must be measured in different contexts, and the tools to quantify its effects require exploration. So, this study aims to propose a statistical model to measure the impact of higher education online courses on SD and a structural equation model (SEM) to find constructs or factors that help us explain a sustainability benefits rate. These proposed models integrate the three areas of sustainability: social, economic and environmental.Design/methodology/approach>A beta regression model suggests features that include the academic and economic opportunities offered by the institution, the involvement in research activities and the quality of the online courses. A structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis allowed selecting the key variables and constructs that are strongly linked to the SD.Findings>One of the key findings showed that the benefit provided by online courses in terms of SD is 62.99% higher than that of offline courses in aspects such as transportation, photocopies, printouts, books, food, clothing, enrolment fees and connectivity.Research limitations/implications>The SEM model needs large sample sizes to have consistent estimations. Thus, despite the obtained estimations in the proposed SEM model being reliable, the authors consider that a limitation of this study was the required time to collect data corresponding to the estimated sample size.Originality/value>This study proposes two novel and different ways to estimate the sustainability benefits rate focused on SDG-4, and machine learning tools are implemented to validate and gain robustness in the estimations of the beta model. Additionally, the SEM model allows us to identify new constructs associated with SDG-4.
ABSTRACT
During current COVID-19 crises, the antimicrobial textiles primarily those utilized in hospital by doctors and paramedical staff have become increasingly important. Thus, there is an unmet requirement to develop antimicrobial textiles for infection control and hygiene practices. Metallic nanoparticles exhibit great effectiveness towards resistant microbial species making them a potential solution to the increasing antibiotic resistance. Due to this, nanoparticles particularly copper and silver have become most prevalent forms of antibacterial finishing agents for the development of antimicrobial textiles. This review is mainly focused on the significance of copper and silver nanoparticles for the development of antimicrobial textiles. The comparative analysis of the antibacterial effectiveness of copper and silver nanoparticles as well as the possible physical and chemical interactions responsible for their antibacterial action are explained. The negative impact of pathogenic microbes on textiles and possible interactions of antimicrobial agents with microbes have also been highlighted. The significance of nanotechnology for the development of antimicrobial textiles and their applications in medical textiles domain have also been discussed. Various green synthesis and chemical methods used for the synthesis of Ag and Cu nanoparticles and their application on textile substrates to impart antimicrobial functionality have also been discussed. The various qualitative and quantitative standard testing protocols utilised for the antimicrobial characterization of textiles have also discussed in this review. The developed Cu and Ag coated textiles could be effectively applied in the field of hospital textiles for the preparation of antibacterial scrub suits, surgical gowns, panel covers, protective clothing, bedding textiles, coveralls, wound dressings, table covers, curtains, and chair covers etc. © The Author(s) 2022.