The TAXI Method: Reducing Fabric Waste with Recognizable Silhouettes in Sustainable Women’s Clothing
Chuanxing Wang
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe research work of this paper is too simple and not suitable for publication.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThere are some grammar and paragraph errors in the text, such as lines 275 and 560.
Author Response
Thank you for your opinion.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsReviewer Report for the Manuscript
Title: Recognizable Silhouettes of Women's Clothing in the Concept of Zero Waste Design
Journal: Sustainability
1. General Comments
The manuscript presents an interesting and relevant contribution to sustainable fashion through the development of the TAXI method. However, there are several points requiring attention, particularly regarding language quality, formatting, and structural clarity.
Key Issues:
Regarding the language and style, some sections exhibit verbose or repetitive language. For example, in the Abstract, "The fabric utilization (pattern) after modeling the basic 'T' cut of the basic silhouette of a women's dress is 75%" could be simplified to: "The fabric utilization after modeling the basic 'T' cut is 75%."
Regarding the formatting, titles of figures and tables are inconsistent. For example, "Figure 3. Construction of a women's dress 'T' of basic silhouette according to the proposed TAXI method" uses excessive detail in the title. Simplify it to: "Figure 3. 'T' silhouette construction with the TAXI method."
There are redundant phrasing in results. For instance, in the Discussion: "The 'T' silhouette based on the basic construction of the garment achieves a fabric utilization of 75%," is repeated verbatim in the Conclusions section.
The description of author affiliations seems incomplete or incorrectly formatted.
On the Title: While descriptive, the title could better emphasize the novelty of the TAXI method.
Example: "Recognizable silhouettes of women's clothing in the concept of zero waste design" might be revised to "The TAXI Method: Reducing Fabric Waste with Recognizable Silhouettes in Sustainable Women's Clothing."
On the Abstract: The Abstract is detailed but disproportionately focuses on results. The methodology is underrepresented. Example: "The fabric utilization (pattern) after modeling the basic 'T' cut of the basic silhouette of a women's dress is 75%" could be replaced with: "The TAXI method improves fabric utilization, achieving 75% with the basic 'T' cut and up to 99.8% with modifications."
On the Introduction: The Introduction provides a solid background but lacks quantitative evidence to underscore the importance of the issue. Example: Add statistics such as: "The fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tons of textile waste annually, with an average of 15-25% fabric waste in traditional garment production [5]."
I suggest, for flow improvement, that you rearrange sections to explicitly answer: (i) What is the problem? (ii) How is it typically addressed? (iii) How does the TAXI method provide a novel solution?
On the M&M section: The methodology is clear but overly detailed in describing basic steps. Example of Excess Detail: "Step 3: B to B1 measure the length of the pattern. Step 4: A to A1 measure the length of the pattern." I suggest replace lengthy textual descriptions with a flowchart summarizing the construction steps.
On the R&D: The discussion of results often lacks integration with figures or theoretical explanations from literature. Example: In "The 'T' fabric utilization according to the design proposal of the TAXI method is 99.8%," include a theoretical explanation or a reference: "This improvement aligns with findings by McQuillan and Rissanen [8], who demonstrated that tailored pattern cuts significantly reduce fabric waste."
You also should take care about figure integration. For example, instead of simply presenting Figure 3, integrate it into the text: "As shown in Figure 3(a), the 'T' silhouette emphasizes straight cuts, contributing to a higher fabric utilization of 99.8%."
Some figures, such as Figure 4, present numerical values without specifying units of measurement.
On the Conclusions: The conclusions are repetitive and could better reflect the study’s broader impact. Example: Instead of repeating results, summarize implications: "The TAXI method not only reduces waste but also establishes a sustainable framework applicable to mass garment production."
On the References: Recent references are limited; only 25% are from the last five years. So, add more recent studies, such as those exploring zero-waste pattern-making techniques published in 2020 or later.
Also, there are inconsistent citation formats. For instance, reference [5] is cited as "Rissanen, T. Zero Waste Fashion Design," but capitalization and formatting do not match the journal's requirements.
Specific Examples for Improvements include: i) Replace "The most common are: 'A', 'H', 'X', 'Y', 'T' and 'O'" with "Common silhouettes include 'A', 'H', 'X', 'Y', 'T', and 'O' (Figure 1)."; ii) Change "Figure 4. Construction of a women's dress 'X' of basic silhouette according to the proposed TAXI method" to "Figure 4. 'X' silhouette constructed with TAXI."; iii) On the results, instead of "The total area of the cutting pattern for 'T' (TM - BC) is 7000 cm²," clarify why this measurement is significant and compare it to baseline metrics.
In summary, the manuscript addresses an important and timely topic, contributing to the field of sustainable fashion. The study demonstrates significant progress in creating recognizable garment silhouettes while adhering to zero-waste principles. However, the manuscript requires improvements in language quality, structural coherence, and the integration of figures and tables with the discussion. Key areas for improvement include simplifying redundant descriptions, providing quantitative data in the introduction, and expanding on theoretical and comparative analyses in the discussion. I recommend the manuscript for minor to moderate revision to address the identified issues. Once the revisions are complete, the manuscript has strong potential to make a valuable contribution to the journal’s readership.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Reviewer Report for the Manuscript
Title: Recognizable Silhouettes of Women's Clothing in the Concept of Zero Waste Design
Journal: Sustainability
1. General Comments
The manuscript presents an interesting and relevant contribution to sustainable fashion through the development of the TAXI method. However, there are several points requiring attention, particularly regarding language quality, formatting, and structural clarity.
Key Issues:
Regarding the language and style, some sections exhibit verbose or repetitive language. For example, in the Abstract, "The fabric utilization (pattern) after modeling the basic 'T' cut of the basic silhouette of a women's dress is 75%" could be simplified to: "The fabric utilization after modeling the basic 'T' cut is 75%."
Regarding the formatting, titles of figures and tables are inconsistent. For example, "Figure 3. Construction of a women's dress 'T' of basic silhouette according to the proposed TAXI method" uses excessive detail in the title. Simplify it to: "Figure 3. 'T' silhouette construction with the TAXI method."
There are redundant phrasing in results. For instance, in the Discussion: "The 'T' silhouette based on the basic construction of the garment achieves a fabric utilization of 75%," is repeated verbatim in the Conclusions section.
The description of author affiliations seems incomplete or incorrectly formatted.
On the Title: While descriptive, the title could better emphasize the novelty of the TAXI method.
Example: "Recognizable silhouettes of women's clothing in the concept of zero waste design" might be revised to "The TAXI Method: Reducing Fabric Waste with Recognizable Silhouettes in Sustainable Women's Clothing."
On the Abstract: The Abstract is detailed but disproportionately focuses on results. The methodology is underrepresented. Example: "The fabric utilization (pattern) after modeling the basic 'T' cut of the basic silhouette of a women's dress is 75%" could be replaced with: "The TAXI method improves fabric utilization, achieving 75% with the basic 'T' cut and up to 99.8% with modifications."
On the Introduction: The Introduction provides a solid background but lacks quantitative evidence to underscore the importance of the issue. Example: Add statistics such as: "The fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tons of textile waste annually, with an average of 15-25% fabric waste in traditional garment production [5]."
I suggest, for flow improvement, that you rearrange sections to explicitly answer: (i) What is the problem? (ii) How is it typically addressed? (iii) How does the TAXI method provide a novel solution?
On the M&M section: The methodology is clear but overly detailed in describing basic steps. Example of Excess Detail: "Step 3: B to B1 measure the length of the pattern. Step 4: A to A1 measure the length of the pattern." I suggest replace lengthy textual descriptions with a flowchart summarizing the construction steps.
On the R&D: The discussion of results often lacks integration with figures or theoretical explanations from literature. Example: In "The 'T' fabric utilization according to the design proposal of the TAXI method is 99.8%," include a theoretical explanation or a reference: "This improvement aligns with findings by McQuillan and Rissanen [8], who demonstrated that tailored pattern cuts significantly reduce fabric waste."
You also should take care about figure integration. For example, instead of simply presenting Figure 3, integrate it into the text: "As shown in Figure 3(a), the 'T' silhouette emphasizes straight cuts, contributing to a higher fabric utilization of 99.8%."
Some figures, such as Figure 4, present numerical values without specifying units of measurement.
On the Conclusions: The conclusions are repetitive and could better reflect the study’s broader impact. Example: Instead of repeating results, summarize implications: "The TAXI method not only reduces waste but also establishes a sustainable framework applicable to mass garment production."
On the References: Recent references are limited; only 25% are from the last five years. So, add more recent studies, such as those exploring zero-waste pattern-making techniques published in 2020 or later.
Also, there are inconsistent citation formats. For instance, reference [5] is cited as "Rissanen, T. Zero Waste Fashion Design," but capitalization and formatting do not match the journal's requirements.
Specific Examples for Improvements include: i) Replace "The most common are: 'A', 'H', 'X', 'Y', 'T' and 'O'" with "Common silhouettes include 'A', 'H', 'X', 'Y', 'T', and 'O' (Figure 1)."; ii) Change "Figure 4. Construction of a women's dress 'X' of basic silhouette according to the proposed TAXI method" to "Figure 4. 'X' silhouette constructed with TAXI."; iii) On the results, instead of "The total area of the cutting pattern for 'T' (TM - BC) is 7000 cm²," clarify why this measurement is significant and compare it to baseline metrics.
In summary, the manuscript addresses an important and timely topic, contributing to the field of sustainable fashion. The study demonstrates significant progress in creating recognizable garment silhouettes while adhering to zero-waste principles. However, the manuscript requires improvements in language quality, structural coherence, and the integration of figures and tables with the discussion. Key areas for improvement include simplifying redundant descriptions, providing quantitative data in the introduction, and expanding on theoretical and comparative analyses in the discussion. I recommend the manuscript for minor to moderate revision to address the identified issues. Once the revisions are complete, the manuscript has strong potential to make a valuable contribution to the journal’s readership.
Author Response
Regarding the language and style, some sections exhibit verbose or repetitive language. For example, in the Abstract, "The fabric utilization (pattern) after modeling the basic 'T' cut of the basic silhouette of a women's dress is 75%" could be simplified to: "The fabric utilization after modeling the basic 'T' cut is 75%."
Thank you for pointing this out – mark revision in red in Abstract.
Regarding the formatting, titles of figures and tables are inconsistent. For example, "Figure 3. Construction of a women's dress 'T' of basic silhouette according to the proposed TAXI method" uses excessive detail in the title. Simplify it to: "Figure 3. 'T' silhouette construction with the TAXI method."
Thank you for pointing this out – mark revision in red in Abstract
There are redundant phrasing in results. For instance, in the Discussion: "The 'T' silhouette based on the basic construction of the garment achieves a fabric utilization of 75%," is repeated verbatim in the Conclusions section.
We agree with this point and change we made is that one part of text me put in Methodology and the key conclusions are presented.
The description of author affiliations seems incomplete or incorrectly formatted.
Thank you for pointing this out, we change this in conclusion section and in Methodology section.
On the Title: While descriptive, the title could better emphasize the novelty of the TAXI method.
Example: "Recognizable silhouettes of women's clothing in the concept of zero waste design" might be revised to "The TAXI Method: Reducing Fabric Waste with Recognizable Silhouettes in Sustainable Women's Clothing."
Thank you for pointing this out, we change the Title.
On the Abstract: The Abstract is detailed but disproportionately focuses on results. The methodology is underrepresented. Example: "The fabric utilization (pattern) after modeling the basic 'T' cut of the basic silhouette of a women's dress is 75%" could be replaced with: "The TAXI method improves fabric utilization, achieving 75% with the basic 'T' silhouette and up to 99.8% with modifications."
Thank you for pointing this out, we replace this..
On the Introduction: The Introduction provides a solid background but lacks quantitative evidence to underscore the importance of the issue. Example: Add statistics such as: "The fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tons of textile waste annually, with an average of 15-25% fabric waste in traditional garment production [5]."
I suggest, for flow improvement, that you rearrange sections to explicitly answer: (i) What is the problem? (ii) How is it typically addressed? (iii) How does the TAXI method provide a novel solution?
Thank you for pointing this out. In Introduction w we supplemented the Introduction with an emphasis on the problem, how to solve it and how the new TAXI method will contribute to that solution.( line 75-79)
On the M&M section: The methodology is clear but overly detailed in describing basic steps. Example of Excess Detail: "Step 3: B to B1 measure the length of the pattern. Step 4: A to A1 measure the length of the pattern." I suggest replace lengthy textual descriptions with a flowchart summarizing the construction steps.
Thank you for pointing this out. Description of constructions by steps. We have combined some steps into one step, those that are repeated. We believe that a detailed description is necessary for easier navigation when designing clothing. Marked in red.
On the R&D: The discussion of results often lacks integration with figures or theoretical explanations from literature. Example: In "The 'T' fabric utilization according to the design proposal of the TAXI method is 99.8%," include a theoretical explanation or a reference: "
This improvement presents on “T” I “X” silhouette aligns with findings by McQuillan and Rissanen [8], who demonstrated that tailored pattern cuts significantly reduce fabric waste."
Thank you for pointing this out. Authors who are also designers, Holly McQuillan and Timo Rissanen, are mentioned in the paper because they are the originators of the contemporary zero waste movement in the world, who, with their methods, made a step forward in fashion design and clothing production according to the zero-waste concept. Their methods were the inspiration for the proposed TAXI method with the aim of reducing textile waste after tailoring clothes, but the TAXI method differs in emphasizing clothing silhouettes, which is not the case in existing methods, and this method is therefore innovative. In this research, "T" and "X" clothing silhouettes are shown. Other authors included in the literature review are cited for their theoretical contribution in the context of sustainable development and for emphasizing the importance of waste-free clothing production (line 575 to 590)
You also should take care about figure integration. For example, instead of simply presenting Figure 3, integrate it into the text: "As shown in Figure 3(a), the 'T' silhouette emphasizes straight cuts, contributing to a higher fabric utilization of 99.8%."
Thank you for pointing this out. We integrate into the text all figure.
Some figures, such as Figure 4, present numerical values without specifying units of measurement.
Figure 4 shows the words that refer to the clothing size label, so that there is no specified measurement unit.
On the Conclusions: The conclusions are repetitive and could better reflect the study’s broader impact. Example: Instead of repeating results, summarize implications: "The TAXI method not only reduces waste but also establishes a sustainable framework applicable to mass garment production."
Thank you for pointing this out. We summarize implications in Conclusion.
On the References: Recent references are limited; only 25% are from the last five years. So, add more recent studies, such as those exploring zero-waste pattern-making techniques published in 2020 or later.
The new references are added. Marked in red.
Also, there are inconsistent citation formats. For instance, reference [5] is cited as "Rissanen, T. Zero Waste Fashion Design," but capitalization and formatting do not match the journal's requirements.
Citation format is corrected. Market in red.
Specific Examples for Improvements include: i) Replace "The most common are: 'A', 'H', 'X', 'Y', 'T' and 'O'" with "Common silhouettes include 'A', 'H', 'X', 'Y', 'T', and 'O' (Figure 1)."; ii) Change "Figure 4. Construction of a women's dress 'X' of basic silhouette according to the proposed TAXI method" to "Figure 4. 'X' silhouette constructed with TAXI."; iii) On the results, instead of "The total area of the cutting pattern for 'T' (TM - BC) is 7000 cm²," clarify why this measurement is significant and compare it to baseline metrics.
Specific Examples for Improvements are added in text. We explained why this measurement is significant and compare it to baseline metrics (Line 573-584)
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsVery weak review of scientific literature, so the authors do not prove that their recommended method is novel and relevant. The presented topic needs to be examined in more detail from a scientific perspective.
Figure 8 should indicate the widths of the structures, is the width the same for all sizes?
The authors consider the ideal option that the width of the structure corresponds to the width of the fabric. And what to do if there is a wider or narrower fabric, what actions to take in such cases? Will there be more waste, because there are no small details to fill the unused fabric lot?
Author Response
Very weak review of scientific literature, so the authors do not prove that their recommended method is novel and relevant. The presented topic needs to be examined in more detail from a scientific perspective.
Thank you for pointing this out.
Authors who are also designers, Holly McQuillan and Timo Rissanen, are mentioned in the paper because they are the originators of the contemporary zero waste movement in the world, who, with their methods, made a step forward in fashion design and clothing production according to the zero-waste concept. Their methods were the inspiration for the proposed TAXI method with the aim of reducing textile waste after tailoring clothes, but the TAXI method differs in emphasizing clothing silhouettes, which is not the case in existing methods, and this method is therefore innovative. In this research, "T" and "X" clothing silhouettes are shown. Other authors included in the literature review are cited for their theoretical contribution in the context of sustainable development and for emphasizing the importance of waste-free clothing production (line 575 to 590)
Figure 8 should indicate the widths of the structures, is the width the same for all sizes?
Thank you for pointing this out. The width of the cut image for the basic cuts of "T" and "X" clothing silhouettes, which is 70 cm, and the length of the cut image, which is 100 cm according to the proposed TAXI method, is the same for the range of clothing sizes from 36 to 42. Adjustment of the basic cut according to "T" I "X" to the garment silhouette for each garment size depends on the manipulation of structural elements that depend on the excess fabric within the basic cut that is intended for manipulation according to the designer's ideas. Each clothing size can be adjusted to the listed silhouettes, while the intercut loss remains the same for all clothing sizes. ( line 500 do 506)
The authors consider the ideal option that the width of the structure corresponds to the width of the fabric. And what to do if there is a wider or narrower fabric, what actions to take in such cases? Will there be more waste, because there are no small details to fill the unused fabric lot?
The TAXI method was designed in accordance with previous research by the afore-mentioned authors, which proved to be a good solution in clothing construction and fashion design for reducing fabric waste after tailoring, which is based on the standard length and width of the fabric. The TAXI method is based on the standard width of the fabric because it is the most common in the construction of clothing, while other dimensions of the fabric are not so common. The TAXI method can be adapted to a smaller fabric width of 60 or 50 cm due to the manipulation of structural elements that depend on the preferences of the designer. In that case, it is possible that the method will be adapted for a smaller range of clothing sizes, which leaves room for further re-search of the proposed method. The wider dimension of the fabric is generally 150 cm, for which the TAXI method could achieve good utilization if two clothing sizes fit, which needs to be further investigated. Od 592 do 603.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis article proposed a TAXI method which could reduce fabric waste with recognizable silhouettes. This work is novelty and valuable for publication.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsAccept in present form
