Search Results (116)

The fashion industry represents a dynamic expression of cultural diversity and plays a crucial role in national economic health. This research designs strategic management guidance for BANU, a sustainable clothing startup in Senegal aimed at empowering local families to improve their lifestyles. Utilizing an exploratory research strategy, the study develops a comprehensive strategic plan for BANU as a natural textile dyes company, examining factors influencing its development at the macro, micro, and organization layers to identify key strategic issues and strategic options as a comprehensive strategic management plan for BANU to grow. A multifaceted strategic approach is recommended, including tailored operational strategies aligned with local traditions, sustainability, and customer engagement. Collaborations with local businesses, suppliers, and educational institutions are advised to strengthen BANU’s market presence. Additionally, differentiation through unique natural dye clothing and partnerships are encouraged. As BANU evolves, a shift towards corporate strategy, diversification, and international market expansion is suggested to enhance strategic management and ensure sustainable growth. Full article

The rapid production and disposal of synthetic textiles, driven by fast fashion and overconsumption, contribute significantly to environmental pollution and human health risks. Functional finishes often contain toxic substances that leach into aquatic systems. Laundering and abrasion release microplastic fibers (MPFs), commonly called microplastics, and anthropogenic microfibers (MFs) which degrade into nanoplastics (NPs) through mechanical stress, heat, and UV radiation. These particles bypass wastewater treatment and accumulate in human organs, including the liver, lungs, and brain. This review highlights the limitations of current waste management systems, the role of textile design in particle release, and the need for further research on airborne emissions and environmental interactions. Mitigating textile-derived plastic pollution will require biodegradable finishes, pre-consumer filtration systems, and circular consumption models supported by interdisciplinary collaboration. Full article

The transition from a linear to a more circular economy has pressured companies from different sectors to implement circular business strategies and redesign their existing business models or even create new ones. The aim of this investigation is to identify the different circular business strategies adopted by Portuguese companies in the textile and clothing industry and evaluate their impact on the sustainability of the business. This article presents a framework of strategies to guide managers in addressing the challenges of moving from fast to more sustainable fashion. This exploratory research is based on a qualitative methodology, relying on semi-structured interviews with the managers of six companies in the textile and clothing sector in Portugal that have implemented circular practices. The primary data collection took place between 20 July and 30 September 2022. The results show that companies have supported their circular economy practices mainly through product life extension strategies (mostly based on durable product design) and resource use reduction strategies, with resource recovery being the most common. The use of personalized product design and clothing repair strategies is still largely unexplored by companies. The findings also suggest that companies have to adapt their way of production and market relationships with consumers in order to accommodate the practices of a circular economy in their businesses. In the future, a quantitative approach could also provide new insights, as well as longitudinal and cross-country comparison studies. Full article

This essay examines how AI-driven content curation reshapes leadership fashions through algorithmic amplification on social media platforms. Algorithms designed to maximize engagement selectively elevate certain leadership styles, such as authentic, servant, and transformational leadership, while marginalizing others, including transactional or directive approaches. Drawing on leadership fashion theory, an extension of management fashion theory, this essay analyzes how viral content, influencer dynamics, and algorithmic prioritization collectively construct contemporary leadership ideals. It highlights the central role of leadership gurus such as Simon Sinek, Brené Brown, and Gary Vaynerchuk, and critiques the risks of oversimplification and performative authenticity in algorithmically mediated leadership discourse. Using recent empirical findings and real-world examples, the analysis shows how emotionally resonant and morally charged content gains disproportionate visibility, potentially distorting leadership development and practice. This essay concludes by discussing implications for organizations, leadership education, and research, and calls for a renewed commitment to evidence-based leadership theory and practice in the face of algorithmic influence. Full article

One of the core objectives of the European Green Deal in pursuing climate neutrality and sustainable development is the decarbonization of high-impact sectors. Among the most polluting is the fast fashion industry, driven by linear business models that must urgently transition to circular economy frameworks and decarbonized supply chains. Fast fashion poses significant environmental and social challenges due to its high greenhouse gas emissions, excessive resource consumption, and substantial waste generation. To foster greater sustainability within the sector, this study examines environmental indicators defined by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), in accordance with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) 2022/2464. Aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), these standards aim to harmonize sustainability disclosures and enable better decision-making across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions throughout Europe. This research focuses on five key environmental aspects—climate change, pollution, water resource management, biodiversity, and circular economy/resource use—across four leading fast fashion brands: Mango, Zara, H&M, and Shein. Using an exploratory web-based methodology, this study evaluates how these companies disclose and implement ESG strategies in their supply chains. The central aim is to assess the sustainability and resilience of their operations, with particular emphasis on communication strategies that support the transition from linear to circular business models. Ultimately, this study seeks to highlight both the progress and persistent challenges faced by the fast fashion industry in aligning with ESG and ESRS requirements. Full article

Efficient supply chain management (SCM) is essential for enterprises seeking to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and mitigate risks while ensuring product quality and customer satisfaction. Addressing quality concerns within the supply chain proactively helps minimize rework, recalls, and returns, leading to significant cost savings and improved profitability. This study presents a machine learning (ML)-driven predictive analytics framework designed to forecast defect rates and optimize quality control processes. The research leverages a dataset sourced from a real-world fashion and beauty startup, hosted in a public repository. The framework employs advanced ML algorithms, including extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector machines (SVMs), and random forests (RFs), to accurately predict defect rates and derive actionable insights for supply chain optimization. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of predictive analytics in improving supply chain quality management, enabling enterprises to proactively reduce defect rates, minimize costs, and optimize return on investment (ROI). The proposed framework is designed to be scalable and transferable, ensuring adaptability across various industries, including fashion, e-commerce, and manufacturing. These findings underscore the economic and operational benefits of integrating machine learning into supply chain quality control, offering a data-driven, proactive approach to achieving high-efficiency, high-quality supply chain operations. Full article

Urban forests play important roles in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. However, their adaptive mechanisms and limitations on photosynthesis throughout the canopy are poorly understood. This study takes the most widely distributed 50-year-old camphor plantations (Cinnamomum camphora) in Shanghai as the research objects. We investigated the variations in leaf morphology and photosynthetic physiology and biochemistry at six different canopy positions during a summer and an autumn period. We discovered that on account of leaf nitrogen loss and water deficit, light-saturated photosynthesis (A_max) declined in upper sunlit leaves despite being exposed to high sunlight in the same fashion as stomatal and mesophyll conductance (g_sw, g_m), photochemical quenching coefficient and actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (Φ_PSII, q_P), and maximum rate of electron transport and carboxylation (J_max, V_cmax) during the growing season. Although seasonal change had little effect on A_max, the relative importance of limitations varied temporally. Mesophyll and biochemical limitation were the major contributors to the decline in the A_max in upper sunlit leaves between summer and autumn, respectively. Our study highlights the constraints of carbon fixation capacity in dense stands of mature camphor trees and offers technical support for the accurate prediction of canopy photosynthesis and the enhancement of carbon sequestration management in urban forests. Full article

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and Industry 5.0 (I5.0) represent important changes in industrial paradigms. I4.0 is centered on efficiency and competitiveness, and I5.0 adds sustainability, human-centricity, and resilience to the framework. Despite their growing relevance, much of the existing research remains techno-centric, neglecting the sociocultural and institutional forces shaping them. This study investigates how the transition from I4.0 to I5.0 is occurring using an institutional perspective. A qualitative methodology was employed, combining theoretical synthesis and secondary data analysis to develop an integrative model. The proposed model draws on insights from Institutional Theory, Scandinavian Institutionalism, Management Fashion, and Quintuple Helix, emphasizing the role of translation and diffusion in institutionalizing these paradigms. We maintain that both of them are fundamentally discursive, shaped by institutional pressures, shared meanings, and stakeholder interactions. I4.0 already allows for a heterogeneous vision adjusted to different perspectives and stakeholders. I5.0 goes further by responding to criticism about social and environmental issues and introducing resilience, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis. As a result, I5.0 aligns with a broader range of actors and interests, increasing its potential for widespread acceptance and long-term impact. This research challenges deterministic views of technology, arguing that this new industrial revolution is not eminently technology-driven but instead emphasizes the central role of discourse and institutional processes in shaping its development. Full article

Secondhand clothing has undergone a significant transformation from a vital household asset in the pre-industrial era to a dynamic segment of global trade in the 21st century. However, the advent of fast fashion has led to overproduction and mass consumption of inexpensive garments, fueling a surge in the secondhand clothing trade. Between 2002 and 2022, the market value of this industry quadrupled, with exports accounting for 1.17% of total global clothing exports in 2022. This study examines global secondhand clothing exports using export competitiveness tools such as revealed comparative advantage (RCA), the index of export market penetration (IEMP), the trade intensity index (TII), unit values, market shares, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The top eleven secondhand clothing exporting countries are analyzed for a ten year period (2013 to 2022) using the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database. The analysis reveals notable trends: the United States and China dominate the market, while Pakistan and the UAE exhibit the highest growth rates. The study also reaffirmed that trade patterns for secondhand clothing continue to flow from the Global North—including China—to the Global South, a trend observed since the early 2000s. This research provides a comprehensive, current analysis of the ever growing secondhand clothing export market within the sustainable management of the secondhand clothing context. Full article

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed industries, positioning the fashion sector as a critical area of study due to its mass production and pressing sustainability challenges. As the world’s largest apparel producer, China faces unique hurdles in terms of integrating AI technologies, highlighting the intersection of technological innovation and sustainability within this industry. In this context, this study aims to provide the initial exploratory correlations between AI adoption and open innovation from apparel manufacturing micro-, small-, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) managers’ perspectives, identifying knowledge absorptive capacity (KACAP)’s significant impacts through an integrated and extended TAM-TOE model. We conducted PLS-SEM to empirically validate the antecedents of AI adoption and its consequential effects on KACAP and open innovation by collecting information from 269 of the apparel manufacturing MSMEs’ top managers. The results show that the TAM-TOE structural model explains 60.7% of the variance in AI adoption, 47.4% in KACAP, and 55.4% in open innovation, which suggests that the model has good explanatory capacity, and that all these Q² values indicate a sizeable predictive accuracy threshold. Drawing on the proposed model, the study has identified technological (e.g., perceived usefulness) and environmental factors (e.g., competitive pressure, market uncertainty, and government support and policy) that significantly impact AI adoption, while organizational factors (e.g., organizational readiness) directly impact KACAP, and environmental factors (e.g., competitive pressure, supplier involvement, and market uncertainty) directly impact open innovation. Subsequently, the AI construct is having a significant influence on MSMEs’ open innovation through KACAP. This fills existing theoretical gaps by linking AI technology to organizational innovation processes and demonstrates the mediating influence of KACAP. Also, the proposed model provides a foundation for future research by exploring the intersection of AI and innovation in similar industries. Full article

Clothing is a social product that represents both individual and collective manifestations of identity, functioning as a system of signs. This study examines the relationship between fashion and resilience as factors driving changes in the traditional folk costume of Romanian women from Rupea, Brașov County, from the late 19th century to the present. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with locals and enhanced by photo elicitation and participant observation, where the authors served as community insiders. The study first describes the local folk costume’s main distinguishing features, which locals use as indicators of community status. Next, it analyzes the transformations of the folk costume and their sources, including fashion, which facilitated the adoption of external influences based on their association with prestige, and resilient responses to challenges during the period under investigation. The research also demonstrates how Rupea’s Romanian residents managed to preserve and capitalize on the folk costume and community traditions after the Communist Party’s rise to power in Romania. These transformations in folk costume did not diminish its function as a system of signs. The preservation of its significance and traditions demonstrates cultural resilience in an urban environment and supports the role of local communities in sustainably managing intangible cultural heritage resources. Full article

With the rise of the green economy and the increasing awareness of consumer sustainability, green marketing has become a global competition strategy adopted by the textile and apparel industry. This study explores key factors and challenges in green marketing to support the industry’s sustainable development. Using the PRISMA 2020 methodology, 54 studies were systematically reviewed to identify core themes: green marketing and branding, consumer behavior and green consumption, circular economy and sustainability, green supply chain management, and textile and fashion culture. The findings reveal that consumers’ understanding of green knowledge and corporate green branding strategies are key factors in the success of green marketing. This review integrates effective strategies for practitioners and new directions for future research. It also highlights the added value of green marketing in fostering sustainability and proposes a conceptual framework for industry application. By addressing gaps in existing research, this study provides actionable recommendations for bridging theory and practice in green marketing. Future research should investigate region-specific dynamics and further develop strategies to enhance the industry’s sustainability efforts. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between green marketing and sustainable development in textiles and apparel. Full article

The fashion industry, which stands out for its creativity and dynamism, has multidimensional impacts in terms of environmental sustainability from raw material extraction to waste management. The textile and fashion industries are criticized for posing significant threats to the ecosystem, biodiversity, and human health by negatively impacting air, water, and soil quality throughout the cycle, from production and distribution to consumption and disposal. By focusing on five emerging economies among the top ten textile exporters, this study focuses on an empirical examination of the nexus between the fashion and textile industry, energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emissions. This study fills the existing quantitative research gap in the fashion sector. It provides a comprehensive review that analyzes the environmental impacts in the sector to adopt more sustainable and effective policies. After acknowledging the structural breaks in the sample covering 1980–2023, novel Fourier bootstrapping ARDL and Fourier Granger Causality methods are adopted to examine the long- and short-run interconnections and the directions of causality in a comparative setting for China, Türkiye, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. The results confirmed the positive effects of textiles and fashion as well as energy consumption and economic growth with varying magnitudes for the countries examined. The causality tests confirmed varying and complex unidirectional and bidirectional causality and feedback effects among the variables examined depending on the country analyzed, in addition to identifying common causal effects from textile and fashion to environmental degradation. The findings are of great importance and have significant policy implications. Full article

The present paper studies the changes that occurred in the clothing trade during the COVID-19 pandemic and the influences exerted on business management. The pandemic sped up digitalization, pushing companies to quickly adapt to new economic conditions and marking a turning point for online commerce. In the fashion sector, where consumer behavior has shifted rapidly and digital technologies have transformed the business landscape, it is essential to examine these changes and their long-term impact. The research methodology involved an online questionnaire-based survey, targeting 153 respondents from various age groups. Descriptive statistics were used, such as the analysis of variation indicators, to explore patterns in the data and provide a clearer understanding of the phenomena studied. Additionally, a series of statistical tests were applied to validate the research questions. The aim was not to predict future behavior but to explain current trends and shifts, particularly the acceleration of digitalization during the pandemic. The findings highlight changes in customer behavior, the need for investments in technology and innovation, and the importance of adaptability, especially in marketing. There is a statistically significant relationship between income levels and spending on clothing, with higher incomes leading to increased expenditure. The pandemic amplified the role of online channels, particularly among higher-income groups. Promotional campaigns significantly impact purchase decisions, especially for lower-income consumers, serving as both purchase drivers and tools for customer retention. The shift toward online shopping, accelerated by the pandemic, highlights substantial growth potential for e-commerce in the fashion sector. Consumers favor platforms offering convenience, product diversity, and personalized experiences. A moderate interest in sustainable fashion was observed, with preferences leaning toward affordable and durable materials, underscoring the need for transparent and eco-friendly business practices. Full article

Power system flexibility is becoming increasingly critical in modern power systems due to the quick switch from fossil fuel-based power generation to renewables, old-fashioned infrastructures, and a sharp rise in demand. If a power system complies with financial restrictions and responds quickly to unforeseen shifts in supply and demand, it can be considered flexible. It can ramp up production during periods of high demand or increase it during unanticipated or scheduled events. The broad use of renewable energy in the power grid can provide environmental and economic benefits; nevertheless, renewables are highly stochastic in nature, with variability and uncertainty. New management with adequate planning and operation in the power system is necessary to address the challenges incorporated with the penetration of renewable energy. The primary aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of power system flexibility, including appropriate definitions, parameters, requirements, resources, and future planning, in a compact way. Moreover, this paper potentially addresses the effects of various renewable penetrations on power system flexibility and how to overcome them. It also presents an emerging assessment and planning of influential flexibility solutions in modern power systems. This review’s scientific and engineering insights provide a clear vision of a smart, flexible power system with promised research direction and advancement. Full article