Search results

This research investigates sustainable knowledge from a consumer perspective, thereby focussing on the issue of microfibre pollution (MFP) within the context of the athleisure wear industry.

This research is exploratory in nature and supports its findings with 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews with consumers who have an invested interest in athleisure wear and have either a fashion or a textile science background.

The results provide an insight into how different types of knowledge influence one another and which ones can act as barriers to acting more sustainably and more specifically in reducing MFP.

Although the sample size is relatively small, participants were selected carefully to have different backgrounds and lifestyles, thus, providing valuable insights that can be explored further in the future.

Communication is a key issue that has been identified and which needs to be carefully addressed by providing both quantity and quality.

This research identifies interlinks between different knowledge types and potential barriers that need to be overcome in order to act more sustainably.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain in the future by focusing on investigating the impacts of COVID-19 on the fashion supply chain and review sustainable supply chain.

A systematic literature review (SLR) and a case study have been undertaken to explore the innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain developed after the COVID-19 outbreak. Having conducted a comprehensive literature search in electronic databases Google Scholar, Emerald Insight, ScienceDirect and ProQuest, 69 articles were selected and reviewed. A case of the Kering Group was used to explain the results.

This paper highlighted the basic concepts of a sustainable supply chain, reviewed the 10 principles of the United Nation Global Compact and their connections to promoting supply chain sustainability, as well as the three components of a sustainable supply chain: green supply chain, transparent supply chain and circular supply chain. Based on the results of a SLR and a real case of Kering Group, the paper identified 12 innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain: (1) biodegradable and natural materials, (2) textile recycling, (3) nearshoring, (4) artificial intelligence (AI), (5) robot, (6) 3D printing, (7) Internet of Things, (8) blockchain, (9) reverse resources; (10) bio-packaging, (11) augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) and (12) digital runway.

The epidemiological situations of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding innovative ideas for a sustainable supply chain may change over time. While this paper provides a comprehensive literature review and case study, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts in the development of a sustainable fashion supply chain through collecting both quantitative and qualitative data.

Embracing the issues from the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of this study are further explained by the case of Kering Group in the fashion industry. The managerial implications of the results and discussion are the need to adopt innovative ideas for a more sustainable fashion supply chain in the future. The success of sustainable supply chains work by leveraging the best available technologies such as robot, 3D printing, AR and VR, setting consistent standards for sustainability such as Environmental Profit and Loss and Kering & Textile Exchange and communicating with all parties throughout the supply chain, such as blockchain and AI. Investment in developing technology and innovative ideas will be the key of future to supply chain sustainability. Nonetheless, the specific approach used by each organization must be tailored to its characteristics, goals and circumstances.

Bringing upon unprecedented challenges, the pandemic has shown both companies and consumers just how fragile our planet is. Thus, to protect our planet in the long run, we need to not only make businesses more sustainable but also live more eco-friendly lifestyles.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that conducts a systemic review of the relevant academic journal articles addressed to the managerial audience on sustainable (fashion) supply chain. In addition, this paper also adds some consideration to this gap by exploring the innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain in the future and using a case to illustrate how these ideas can be put in a real-life context. This paper discusses the impact of COVID-19 on different stages of the supply chain and gives innovative ideas that can be used in response to the changing epidemiological situations of the pandemic.

Current evidence indicates that humans and animals are at increased risk of multiple health challenges due to microplastic (MP) profusion. However, mitigation is constrained by inadequate scientific data, further aggravated by the lack of evidence in many African countries. This review therefore synthesized evidence on the current extent of MP pollution in Africa and the analytical techniques for reporting.

A literature search was undertaken in research databases. Medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and keywords were used in the literature search. The authors found 38 studies from 10 countries that met the inclusion criteria.

Marine organisms had MPs prevalence ranging from 19% to 100%, whereas sediments and water samples had between 77 and 100%. The most common and dominant polymers included polypropylene and polyethylene.

This review shows that most studies still use methods that are prone to human errors. Therefore, the concentration of MPs is likely underestimated, even though the authors’ prevalence evaluations show MPs are still largely pervasive across multiple environmental matrices. Also, the study reveals significant spatial disparity in MP research across the African continent, showing the need for further research in other African countries.

Even though some reviews have assessed MPs pollution in Africa, they have not evaluated sample prevalence, which is necessary to understand not only concentration but pervasiveness across the continent. Secondly, this study delves deeper into various methods of sampling, extraction and analysis of MPs, as well as limitations and relevant recommendations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused irrefutable devastation globally. Yet, academic and trade commentators have claimed that this disruption could have had a silver lining by presenting the fashion industry with the opportunity to reassess and rebuild in a slower, more considered way. Part of this reassessment, some have argued, may have been allowing the industry's pre-COVID sustainability buzz to come to fruition by nudging the fashion industry to go circular. This paper explores if, and how, the COVID-19 pandemic was (not) nudging the industry towards circularity using the case study of circular textiles.

Serial, semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with three buyers and sourcers working for three UK-based fashion retailers. Each participant was involved in three interviews in June 2020 following the UK's first national lockdown.

The research findings suggest that, at the time this research was undertaken, these retailers were focussed on regaining profit, protecting their supply chains and producing “safe” designs whilst cutting back and becoming more risk averse. These actors suggested that, in contrast to the suppositions made by academic and media commentators, the COVID-19 pandemic was acting as a hindrance to circularity, not a helping hand, as retailers were less willing to invest in circular textiles at that time than they were pre-pandemic.

This paper offers valuable insight into the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on circular innovation within fashion retail whilst contributing to broader understandings of the principles of the circular economy within textiles and design.

Used clothes supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, fragmented and less transparent due to rising volumes of discarded clothes and its dispersed reverse logistics operations across the Global North (GN) and Global South (GS). While it has a promising impact on circular economy and international trade growth, increasing exports of used clothes and overflowing landfills raise some negative concerns on its overall sustainability. This paper addresses the dichotomy that exists in terms of interpreting the sustainability credentials of used clothes supply chains.

A systematic literature review was carried out and 55 articles were examined to identify the triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability impacts of used clothes supply chains. TBL sustainability issues were identified, reflected through the lens of natural resource-based view and interpreted in the form of propositions.

The paper pinpoints seven TBL sustainability concerns and prescribes three sets of strategic resources required in glocal used clothes supply chains for mitigating these. These are (1) slowing the supply chain by tackling poor quality, overproduction and oversupply issues, (2) improving logistics/supply chain infrastructure and ecosystem collaboration and (2) embedding transparent environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures taken by both value chain actors and regulatory bodies, for embracing system-level sustainable development.

This is one of the first studies to analyse TBL sustainability of glocal north–south used clothes supply chains. The study is unique in terms of its scope and contribution to the sustainable supply chain literature.

Cleanrooms are highly controlled enclosed rooms where air quality is monitored and ensured to have less contamination according to standard cleanliness level. Air filters are used to optimize indoor air quality and remove air pollutants. Filter media and filtering system are decided as per requirement. Depth filter media are mostly used in cleanroom filtrations. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the evolution of cleanroom filter media. It evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of air filter media. It is also studied which air filters have additional properties such as anti-microbial properties, anti-odour properties and chemical absorbent. Development and innovation of air filters and filtration techniques are necessary to improve the performance via the synergistic effect and it can be a possible avenue of future research.

This paper aims to drive the future of air filter research and development in achieving high-performance filtration with high filtration efficiency, low operational cost and high durability. Air pollutants are classified into three types: suspended particles, volatile organic pollutants and microorganisms. Technologies involved in purification are filtration, water washing purification, electrostatic precipitation and anion technology. They purify the air by running it through a filter medium that traps dust, hair, pet fur and debris. As air passes through the filter media, they function as a sieve, capturing particles. The fibres in the filter medium provide a winding path for airflow. There are different types of air filters such as the high-efficiency particulate air filter, fibreglass air filter and ultra-low particulate air filter.

Emerging filtration technologies and filters such as nanofibres, filters with polytetrafluoroethylene membrane are likely to become prevalent over the coming years globally. The introduction of indoor air filtration with thermal comfort can be a possible avenue of future research along with expanding indoor environment monitoring and improving air quality predictions. New air filters and filtration technologies having better performance with low cost and high durability must be developed which can restrict multiple types of pollutants at the same time.

The systematic literature review approach used in this paper highlights the emerging trends and issues in cleanroom filtration in a structured and thematic manner, enabling future work to progress as it will continue to develop and evolve.

Provides a survey about a new process for dyeing synthetic fibres and fabrics. The use of disperse dyes in supercritical carbon dioxide as a dyeing medium completely avoids water pollution and the need for drying. Presents laboratory results showing excellent levelness and fastnesses on the dyeing of polyethylene terephthalate and on polyamides. Describes the state of technical development.

A study to determine the effectiveness of PAC on the removal of COD and colour from dye wastewater. Factors affecting treatment efficiency were investigated and included PAC particle sizes, initial dye concentration and contact time. The adsorption parameters for Langmuir, Freundlich and Dziubek′s isotherms were determined. Results indicated that a very short contact time of one hour was needed to reach equilibrium of adsorption. A COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal efficiency of 90 per cent for disperse‐red‐60 dye wastewater was obtained with PAC (powdered activated carbon). With PAC dosage of less than 15g/l the adsorption followed both Freundlich′s and Langmuir′s isotherms. The ultimate capacity of the adsorption increased with decreasing PAC particle sizes or the initial dye concentration. The mass transfer coefficient was determined in this study.