Young-A Lee

Bangladesh is one of the major global garment-sourcing hotspots. Sustainability has become a megatrend and is shaping the international apparel industry. Given that Bangladesh is one of the largest garment exporters, it is essential to investigate the current sustainability initiatives being developed within the Bangladesh garment industry. Therefore, this study investigated the types of sustainability practices currently adopted within the garment industry in Bangladesh by analyzing publicly available sustainability reports from 25 garment factories published between 2020 and 2021. Guided by the triple bottom line theory, this study revealed through content analysis that companies prominently highlight environmental and social sustainability efforts, while economic sustainability receives comparatively limited attention. These insights identify areas for improvement in the current sustainable practices of the Bangladesh garment industry. Industry professionals, scholars in academia, and other stakeholders may use the primary findings of this study to holistically devise and implement strategies for sustainability practices in the Bangladesh garment industry.

With the increasing use of 3D printing (3DP) in the fashion industry, recycling 3DP waste has gained significant attention from the industry professionals. However, little study has critically discussed existing challenges and opportunities of recycling 3DP waste, specifically polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), for sustainable practices in the fashion industry. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to provide a platform for critical dialogs about recycling PLA- and TPU-based 3DP waste as biological and technical nutrients while identifying key challenges and opportunities in their recycling process to advance circular waste management. The secondary data from relevant academic literature were used to frame this chapter. The key findings from those identified articles were the foundation to develop the main idea of this chapter. The secondary data analysis found that PLA holds great potential as biological nutrients due to its biodegradability, whereas TPU lacks inherent biodegradability, preventing it from functioning as biological nutrients. Despite certain challenges, both PLA- and TPU-based 3DP waste are highly recyclable, positioning them as ideal candidates as technical nutrients. However, circularity cannot be achieved unless circularity principles and practices are holistically understood and adopted by all stakeholders in the fashion industry. It is critical to engage all stakeholders as change agents to move forwards circularity in the 3DP fashion industry. This chapter deepens the understanding of challenges and opportunities associated with recycling PLA- and TPU-based 3DP waste. The chapter lays the foundation for researchers and industry professionals to further explore PLA- and TPU-based 3DP waste recycling within the circular fashion system.

This study aimed to examine the effect of the orientation angle of center facing arms on the elongation and strength of 3D-printed textiles with two different re-entrant cellular auxetic structures. An experimental research design, consisting of 6 (auxetic-structure textiles) × 3 (repetition), was employed. Star-shaped re-entrant auxetic structures (star re-entrant) with orientation angles of 25°, 30°, and 35° and floral-based star-shaped re-entrant auxetic structures (floral re-entrant) with orientation angles of 55°, 60°, and 65° were developed using the fused deposition modeling 3D-printing method through identifying commonly used auxetic structures in the 3D-printed textiles’ development. A statistically significant relationship was found between load and elongation of both star re-entrant and floral re-entrant. The findings indicated that 3D-printed textiles with both star re-entrant and floral re-entrant structures exhibited an enhanced elongation with the increase in orientation angle, making the textile products more flexible and potentially providing better wear comfort. However, the strength of both star re-entrant and floral re-entrant textiles was not significantly affected by the orientation angle of center facing arms. The findings demonstrated the potential to enhance the elongation of 3D-printed auxetic-structure textiles without compromising their strength for ensuing comfort by adjusting the orientation angle of center facing arms.

Introduction and background. Despite the rising use of virtual design technology in the apparel industry (Lee, 2022; Joy et al., 2022; Papahristou & Bilalis, 2017), limited studies exist examining the application of different types of 2D/3D apparel design software in the apparel design curriculum, as well as the effectiveness of using this technology on students' learning experience and outcome. Fontana et al. (2005) and Papachristou et al. (2019) explored the interface differences among various 2D/3D programs used in apparel design without considering students' learning experience with the use of different 2D/3D programs. Baytar (2018) and Park et al. (2011) investigated students' experience in an apparel design course using a single 2D/3D apparel design software. Waving through the pandemic, the increased number of apparel programs have adopted and used various types of 2D/3D design software such as Browzwear, CLO, and Optitex simultaneously; thus, it is crucial to explore the effectiveness of using different types of 2D/3D design programs on students' learning experience and outcome, which is critical nowadays for the apparel design education to be aligned with the industry needs and demands. Thus, this study aimed to explore the effectiveness of using two different 2D/3D programs on apparel design students' learning experience, which would lead apparel educators to choose the right 2D/3D software aligning with students' learning outcomes and pedagogical goals. The specific objectives were to: (a) assess students' learning outcome by reviewing their 2D/3D design projects completed by using two different 2D/3D programs (hereafter software A and software B) and (b) examine their learning experience by comparing their thoughts and knowledge about software A and software B, intent of their use, and perceived characteristics of using the software. Method. This exploratory case study consisted of two parts: (a) the expert reviews of their 2D/3D design projects completed by using software A and software B (objective assessment) and (b) the online survey examining students' learning experience of using two different 2D/3D programs (subjective assessment). The 2D/3D project using software A in spring term and software B in fall term (NA=11 and NB=11, respectively) were assessed. Students from the same cohort were given four weeks per semester to complete their 2D/3D design project. The objectives of 2D/3D design project were identical for both courses, including an overview of the software, 2D/3D pattern digitizing, virtual material fabrication, digital sewing, avatar editing, fit evaluation, assigning and adjusting colorways, logos, and engineered print mapping. The only difference was the software type they used. For the objective assessment of students' effective learning, two design experts who taught the courses visually assessed both digital and printed outcomes, using the following review criteria: 2D/3D simulation, pattern digitizing, digital sewing, fit adjustment, and textile and engineered print application. The online survey questionnaire consisted of two different steps. Students first were asked about their overall thoughts and learning experiences of software A in open-ended questions. After completing the second 2D/3D design project, another survey was performed to