Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 1 April 1999

Tanya Domina and Kathryn Koch

A growing sensitivity to environmental issues has stimulated increased consumer recycling of post‐consumer product waste. Post‐consumer textile waste is a largely untapped…

3710

Abstract

A growing sensitivity to environmental issues has stimulated increased consumer recycling of post‐consumer product waste. Post‐consumer textile waste is a largely untapped commodity with strong reuse and recycling potential. This study explored consumer practices regarding textile waste disposal. Findings revealed the use of several textile disposal options with significant relationships between options used and attitudes toward recycling. This research is a necessary precursor to the establishment of organised textile recycling programmes.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 March 2024

Anna Zhuravleva

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) are exposed to a highly competitive environment in which they are forced to grow their commercial activity to acquire additional financial…

Abstract

Purpose

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) are exposed to a highly competitive environment in which they are forced to grow their commercial activity to acquire additional financial resources. This study aims to create an understanding of how NPOs involved in textile reuse as a revenue-generating programme manage their reverse supply chains (RSC).

Design/methodology/approach

The research involves an embedded single-case study of NPOs in Finland involved in post-use textile collection. The main data sources are semi-structured interviews and participant observations.

Findings

This study is inspired by the microfoundations movement and identifies the underlying microfoundations of the NPOs’ capabilities for managing RSC for textile reuse. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating NPOs’ lower-level, granular practices and their adaptations for achieving quality outcomes in textile reuse.

Research limitations/implications

The findings have context sensitivity and apply to the NPOs which operate in a context similar to Finland, such as in other Nordic countries.

Practical implications

This study continues the discussion on the adoption of “business-like” practices in the NPOs’ pursuit of additional revenue streams to finance humanitarian work. The findings of this study can also be transferred to the growing area of domestic textile circularity.

Social implications

Using the case of NPOs in textile reuse, the study illustrates how RSC management can serve a social, non-profit cause and transform unwanted textile products into a source of fundraising for humanitarian work.

Originality/value

This enriches the understanding of NPOs’ practices within the scope of revenue-generating programmes by examining one of them – textile reuse through charity shops from an RSC perspective.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 May 2019

Ida Marie Sandvik and Wendy Stubbs

The purpose of this paper is to explore the drivers, inhibitors and enablers of creating a textile-to-textile recycling system in the Scandinavian fashion industry. It…

13355

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the drivers, inhibitors and enablers of creating a textile-to-textile recycling system in the Scandinavian fashion industry. It investigates the technology, innovation and systemic changes required to enable circular supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

The research study uses a qualitative, interpretivist approach, drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in the Scandinavian fashion industry.

Findings

The main inhibitors to textile-to-textile recycling systems in the Scandinavian fashion industry are: limited technology which creates a challenge for separating materials; high costs of research and development and building the supporting logistics; complexity of supply chains including the multitude of stakeholders involved in product development. The enablers are design and use of new materials, increased garment collection and collaboration. This research suggests that sorting and recycling technology can be enhanced with the use of digital technologies, as this would create transparency, traceability and automatisation.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited by a small sample size and lack of representation of all key stakeholder groups, which limits the ability to generalise these findings. However, as an exploratory study, the findings provide insights that can be further tested in other contexts.

Originality/value

Understanding of textile-to-textile recycling is emerging both theoretically and practically, however, there is still much that is not understood. This research contributes to furthering understanding of how technology, collaboration and systemic change in the fashion industry can support opportunities for textile-to-textile recycling, thereby aligning with circular economy principles.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 September 2021

Anna Zhuravleva and Anna Aminoff

The European Union (EU) member states are obligated to implement the separate collection of textile waste by the year 2025. Nowadays, non-profit organizations (NPOs) are the…

2784

Abstract

Purpose

The European Union (EU) member states are obligated to implement the separate collection of textile waste by the year 2025. Nowadays, non-profit organizations (NPOs) are the largest collectors of post-use textiles. In support of upcoming changes, this study develops an understanding of barriers and drivers for establishing partnerships between NPOs and companies in reverse textile supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts the embedded single-case design. The main data source is semi-structured interviews with NPOs, companies and research institutes in Finland, identified through intensity case sampling. The drivers and barriers are categorized into seven categories: environmental, economic, social, institutional, technological and informational, supply chain and organizational categories.

Findings

This study elaborates on the barriers and drivers in a new context of textile valorization and prioritizes them. The study identifies the alignment of interests and goals, increased transparency and clarity of terminology and other main factors in establishing the partnership.

Research limitations/implications

Expanding the geographical boundaries of current research will capture the experiences of NPOs and companies in other contextual settings.

Practical implications

This study contributes to the existing knowledge with a broad picture of different barriers and drivers. The findings intend to support the integration of NPOs in reverse textile supply chains.

Social implications

The partnership can potentially minimize the export of post-use textiles to developing countries, thus reducing the negative environmental footprint and social impact of the textile industry.

Originality/value

The study looks at an emerging form of partnership between NPOs and companies in reverse supply chains for enabling valorization of post-use textiles.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 51 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2023

Baldev Singh Rana, Gian Bhushan and Pankaj Chandna

The purpose of current study deals with the development and wear testing of jute and cotton fiber reinforced with nano fly ash-based epoxy composites. Performance of waste cotton…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of current study deals with the development and wear testing of jute and cotton fiber reinforced with nano fly ash-based epoxy composites. Performance of waste cotton fabric nano hybrid composites are compared with waste jute fabric nano hybrid composites.

Design/methodology/approach

Basic hand layup technique was used to develop composites. To optimize the parameters and design of experiments, Taguchi design was implemented to test wear rate and co-efficient of friction as per ASTM standards. Performance of waste cotton fabric nano hybrid composites is compared with waste jute fabric nano hybrid composites.

Findings

Result shows that nano fly ash lowers the wear rate and co-efficient of friction in developed composites. Findings reveals that hybrid composites of waste jute Fabric with 3 Wt.% of nano fly ash performed best amongst all composites developed. Morphology of nano composites worn out surfaces are also analyzed through SEM.

Practical implications

Practically, textile waste, i.e. jute, cotton and nano fly ash (thermal power plant) all wastes, is used to develop composites for multi-function application.

Social implications

Wastes are reused and recycled to develop epoxy-based composites for sustainable structures in aviation.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, nano fly ash and jute, cotton combination is used for the first time to develop and test for wear application.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 95 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2020

Md Mazedul Islam, Patsy Perry and Simeon Gill

This paper reviews the literature on environmentally sustainable practices in textile, apparel and fashion (TAF) industries to allow the mapping of practices across various…

8115

Abstract

Purpose

This paper reviews the literature on environmentally sustainable practices in textile, apparel and fashion (TAF) industries to allow the mapping of practices across various manufacturing processes and the development of a conceptual framework to guide investigation of the extent of sustainable practices in TAF industries from an environmental perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was undertaken, consisting of bibliometric and content analysis of 91 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over a 10-year period.

Findings

The inclusion of sustainable practices from all manufacturing stages in this review illustrates the diversity and complexities of environmental practices in TAF contexts. However, there is less research in developing country contexts, where most TAF production takes place and a paucity of research in upstream stages of garment washing and dyeing, and the manufacture of trims, accessories and packaging.

Research limitations/implications

The focus is on environmental sustainability and upstream manufacturing processes. The review includes literature in the form of academic journal articles from selected databases during the period January 2010–June 2020.

Practical implications

This review provides academics with a unified depiction of environmentally sustainable practices to stimulate further scholarly research and provides guidance for managers to develop firm sustainability competency by summarising best practices at different manufacturing stages

Originality/value

This review comprehensively maps the academic literature on environmentally sustainable practices in TAF industries from an upstream manufacturing operations context. It highlights the contribution of scholarly study to the knowledge base on environmentally sustainable practices in TAF industries.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 December 2021

Heike Derwanz

Buying secondhand clothing is not only interesting for consumers wanting to save money but also for sustainable clothing enthusiasts. It is now among a number of consumption…

Abstract

Buying secondhand clothing is not only interesting for consumers wanting to save money but also for sustainable clothing enthusiasts. It is now among a number of consumption practices which slow down fast fashion production while saving 10 to 20 times the energy (Fletcher, 2008, p. 100). While most of the recent scholarly work focuses on secondhand consumers (Bianchi & Birtwistle, 2010; Franklin, 2011; Norum, 2015), this paper aims to examine business activities. This perspective from economic anthropology enhances understandings of secondhand clothing, as research to-date has tended to neglect the semiotic function of clothing while underlining exchanges. To gain insight into the dynamics of the sector in Germany today, two businesses from Hamburg have been ethnographically examined by the author since 2014. This study outlines their work practices and explains the development of this high-end segment of the market from the 1970s until the digital age. For businesses, the digitalization of the trade has had massive effects on their business practice because it seems to solve inherent problems connected to the selling of pre-owned clothing. I argue that the digitalization did not only promote acceptance of buying secondhand clothing in Germany but also the emergence of new businesses models.

Details

Infrastructure, Morality, Food and Clothing, and New Developments in Latin America
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-434-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2018

Daniel Luiz Mattos Nascimento, Viviam Alencastro, Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas, Rodrigo Goyannes Gusmão Caiado, Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes, Luis Rocha-Lona and Guilherme Tortorella

The purpose of this paper is to explore how rising technologies from Industry 4.0 can be integrated with circular economy (CE) practices to establish a business model that reuses

13687

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how rising technologies from Industry 4.0 can be integrated with circular economy (CE) practices to establish a business model that reuses and recycles wasted material such as scrap metal or e-waste.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative research method was deployed in three stages. Stage 1 was a literature review of concepts, successful factors and barriers related to the transition towards a CE along with sustainable supply chain management, smart production systems and additive manufacturing (AM). Stage 2 comprised a conceptual framework to integrate and evaluate the synergistic potential among these concepts. Finally, stage 3 validated the proposed model by collecting rich qualitative data based on semi-structured interviews with managers, researchers and professors of operations management to gather insightful and relevant information.

Findings

The outcome of the study is the recommendation of a circular model to reuse scrap electronic devices, integrating web technologies, reverse logistics and AM to support CE practices. Results suggest a positive influence from improving business sustainability by reinserting waste into the supply chain to manufacture products on demand.

Research limitations/implications

The impact of reusing wasted materials to manufacture new products is relevant to minimising resource consumption and negative environmental impacts. Furthermore, it avoids hazardous materials ending up in landfills or in the oceans, seriously threatening life in ecosystems. In addition, reuse of wasted material enables the development of local business networks that generate jobs and improve economic performance.

Practical implications

First, the impact of reusing materials to manufacture new products minimises resource consumption and negative environmental impacts. The circular model also encourages keeping hazardous materials that seriously threaten life in ecosystems out of landfills and oceans. For this study, it was found that most urban waste is plastic and cast iron, leaving room for improvement in increasing recycling of scrap metal and similar materials. Second, the circular business model promotes a culture of reusing and recycling and motivates the development of collection and processing techniques for urban waste through the use of three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies and Industry 4.0. In this way, the involved stakeholders are focused on the technical parts of recycling and can be better dedicated to research, development and innovation because many of the processes will be automated.

Social implications

The purpose of this study was to explore how Industry 4.0 technologies are integrated with CE practices. This allows for the proposal of a circular business model for recycling waste and delivering new products, significantly reducing resource consumption and optimising natural resources. In a first stage, the circular business model can be used to recycle electronic scrap, with the proposed integration of web technologies, reverse logistics and AM as a technological platform to support the model. These have several environmental, sociotechnical and economic implications for society.

Originality/value

The sociotechnical aspects are directly impacted by the circular smart production system (CSPS) management model, since it creates a new culture of reuse and recycling techniques for urban waste using 3D printing technologies, as well as Industry 4.0 concepts to increase production on demand and automate manufacturing processes. The tendency of the CSPS model is to contribute to deployment CE in the manufacture of new products or parts with AM approaches, generating a new path of supply and demand for society.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 February 2022

Jaspreet Kaur, Emmanuel Mogaji, Deepti Wadera and Sangeeta Gupta

This study aims to investigate the domestic sustainable consumption practices in Indian households and the motivations to do so. These practices also contribute to environment…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the domestic sustainable consumption practices in Indian households and the motivations to do so. These practices also contribute to environment management and its impact on Indian society through the action of reusing, reducing and recycling of consumed products for two generations, namely, the Baby Boomer and the Generation Z.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative research was undertaken in which the data were collected through personal interview technique with 64 respondents including males and females from the generations of Baby Boomers and Generation Z of Indian households.

Findings

The theoretical framework of the 3R was extended to inculcate broader themes like awareness, action and motivation for the domestic sustainable activities. The findings conclude that the domestic sustainable consumption practices of Baby Boomers in India were far more advanced than their Generation Z counterparts. These two generations differed in their awareness sources, actions of sustainability and the motivations for undergoing the domestic sustainable activities. Managerial implications have been framed for organisations like start-ups, sustainable firms, government organisations and second-hand product vendors. These practices in such organisations could help in the enhancement of circular economy through the domestic waste disposal.

Practical implications

Practical implications are for organisations that can consider the domestic sustainability consumption practices while planning their strategies to maximise stakeholder satisfaction through their corporate social responsibility initiatives and create more goodwill and growth avenues for their businesses.

Originality/value

Where most of the past literature concentrates on the supply chain and manufacturing initiatives of sustainability or sustainable consumption, very few studies look at the angle of domestic sustainability initiative and how they could be linked to the initiative of circular economy. This paper fills this gap in past literature.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2023

Matthew Kalubanga and Winfred Mbekeka

This study examines how compliance with government and firm's own policy and reverse logistics practices relate with firm environmental performance.

285

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines how compliance with government and firm's own policy and reverse logistics practices relate with firm environmental performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on insights from stakeholder theory, and follows a two-phase research approach. The first phase utilized an extended literature review that seeks to provide a qualitative and comprehensive understanding of the research problem. The 2001–2023 data was collected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, complemented with Google Scholar. The second phase involved an empirical study—adopting a quantitative cross-sectional survey design with a self-administered questionnaire to validate the theoretical conceptualizations deriving from the literature review. The empirical data were collected from 203 food and beverages manufacturing firms in Uganda and analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.

Findings

The study findings suggest that compliance with government policy positively influences firm environmental performance, both directly, and indirectly through fostering reverse logistics practices, and that the relationship between compliance with government policy and reverse logistics practices is contingent upon compliance with the focal firm's own policy.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings will enhance the theoretical and conceptual development of the ideas that underpin stakeholder theory and applications. The Ugandan government will come up with better mechanisms for enforcing compliance with policy regulating the application of reverse logistics practices. In addition, the study advances the use of multi-method approaches in investigating interesting research aspects requiring in-depth examination. However, considering the fact that the empirical study was conducted in a single country context, and focused on firms more or less from the same sub-sector, the findings of the study might not be generalizable globally.

Practical implications

This study provides useful insights to logistics and supply chain managers involved in reverse logistics activities in food and beverages manufacturing firms. These managers can know how to leverage reverse logistics practices to enhance environmental performance of firms amidst environmental policies in the industry where they operate.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the built body of knowledge in operations, logistics and supply chain management literature; understanding about reverse logistics practices as a mechanism through which compliance with government policy influences environmental performance of firms. The interaction between compliance with government policy and compliance with firm policy is essential in explaining the performance effects of reverse logistics practices. In addition, the study advances the use of multi-method approaches in investigating interesting research aspects requiring in-depth examination. Complementing extended literature review with and empirical research to investigate reverse logistics practices influences on firm environmental performance, and incorporating the role of policy in explaining this relationship should make considerable contribution. Besides, the study highlights important areas for future research.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000