The textile and apparel industry is the gate of choice for most developing countries in their quest to step into industrialization. The ease of entry into this field and the abnormally high wages in developed countries have created favorable conditions for the manufacturing and the exportation of textile and apparel derived products. At the same time, this unique situation has effected a cutthroat competition among the many actors while fueling an intense protectionism in many developed countries where the export markets are found. However, paradoxically, it is the U.S. trade policies that have been the common factor in the flourishing of the textile and apparel industry in many countries and regions around the world. From Asia, this generous openness has in time reached the Caribbean region and finally Sub-Saharan Africa. The evolution of this fluid industry in developing countries is examined within the boundaries of the textile and apparel managed trade agreements. It is argued that successes in this field must come from the combined efforts of the local government's industrial and trade policies, the entrepreneurial prowess of the private sector and the flexibility and the work ethic of the labor force. From the SE Asia NICs, to the Caribbean states and the Sub-Saharan African region, the synergy created by the U.S. trade policies and the local capabilities is shown to be the major ingredient for the development of the textile and apparel sector in scores of developing countries.
The apparel industry must produce many different types of products in small quantities in shorter lead times. Trade journals and researchers have emphasized the importance of the right sewing system for achievement of high productivity rates. However, the findings of this research suggest that the actual technology of a sewing system is only one factor in achieving higher productivity. Product type was also highly correlated with high level of productivity. Considering the preliminary findings from this study, a manager should evaluate carefully the plant and the product before selecting a sewing system. Without more detailed analysis, managers should not change sewing systems just to get a new sewing system. The findings of this study suggest the need for more exploration of sewing systems including the impact on productivity.
With increased competition and a changing market place, apparel manufacturers are searching for efficient and responsive production facilities. Selection of appropriate sewing systems is a fundamental part of manufacturing plans. This exploratory study presents a conceptual framework for the study of sewing systems. The framework is applied and tested in an empirical study of the sewing systems used by 96 apparel producers. The product line characteristics of volume and style change frequency directly relate to the type of sewing system used. The conceptual framework has implications for academicians and practitioners studying sewing systems.
A consumer wear study was designed to identify differences in performance of four cotton print upholstery fabrics. Sixty occasional chairs in two slightly different styles were used. The chairs were placed in consumers' homes for two years, then returned to the university for analysis. Soiling was the most apparent effect of the wear study, especially on the chair arms and the backs of the high backed style. Fabric from the arms of the chairs had lower breaking strength and elongation values than did fabric from the cushions or chair backs. The lightest weight fabric lost a significantly greater amount of strength during the two-year wear period; the changes from the original values in the other fabrics were much less severe. Several manufacturing related prob lems were identified and subsequently addressed through quality control efforts within the company that manufactured the chairs.
We have developed a laboratory method to simulate the effects of actual consumer wear on upholstery fabrics. We used three soiling conditions, i.e., no soil, Bandy Black research clay, and Bandy Black plus synthetic sebum, on four cotton print upholstery fabrics, and a Taber rotary platform double head abraser to abrade the fabrics after soil application. Least significant differences and Pearson's product moment correlations indicated that this laboratory test method produced breaking strength and elongation values similar to those found in the fabrics exposed to a two-year consumer wear study.Both laboratory tests and actual wear tests can be used to provide valuable information about the performance of consumer textile products, but the assumption inherent in using such tests is that there is some relationship between laboratory results and performance of the items in actual use. To determine the correlation of laboratory testing procedures with enduse performance, which is sometimes measured by well designed wear tests, the conditions of actual use must be carefully analyzed. One must determine the role that chemical, physical, and aesthetic characteristics of the product actually play in performance. The conditions experienced in actual use must then be simulated as closely as possible in a controlled setting. Since actual wear is such a complex phenomenon, however, laboratory tests are usually designed to evaluate only one or a limited number of variables at a time.Abrasion resistance is the fabric property often claimed to be associated with performance or serviceability of fabrics in actual use [ 2,4,8,10 ] . Backer [ 2 ] identified three mechanisms of abrasion, i.e., frictional wear, cutting, and plucking or snagging. Direct frictional wear is the dominant mechanism when the abrading surfaces are relatively smooth. Surface cutting happens when the abrading surface has sharp projections that are small relative to the surface of the fiber, while plucking or snagging occurs when abradant projections are large relative to the fiber diameter and the abradant pressure on the fabric surface is high. The American Society for Testing and Materials includes standard test methods using five different abrasion instruments [ 1 ] . In addition, other laboratory instruments have also been designed for determining abrasion resistance ( 4 ] , particularly for flat, flex, or edge abrasion. Unfortunately, there is usually little correlation between the results from different abrasion testers [ 1,5,13,17 ] and often little correlation between these laboratory results and results of fabrics evaluated after actual use [ 1,4,11 ] . This is a reflection of the complex nature of actual wear, which is so difficult to simulate in the laboratory.A fabric's resistance to abrasion depends on a number of factors specific to the fabric, including fiber content, fiber mechanical properties, fiber shape, yarn and fabric structure, yarn twist, yarn size, yarn ply, yarn crimp, fabric thickness, thread count, weave type, and finishes [4]. T...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.