A consumer-based textile quality scoring model using multi-criteria decision making

Abstract

In the clothing industry, the understanding of the quality is a major issue to well meet the customer needs. The dilemma that faces manufacturers is to find the balance between good quality and "overquality," what the quality criteria are, and how to target requirements specifications. The aim of this study was to propose a multi-attribute ranking method of products. Ranking is based on an overall quality score. The quality score, here called consumer-based quality, is computed via the combination of textile testing and consumer perception to deterioration. Such a perception has been surveyed, and damage that can lead to end of life has been investigated. Collected data have been translated into a consumer sensitivity using multi-criteria decision making and fuzzy techniques. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process has been used. Five damage categories have been weighted. A selection of appropriate tests according to standards has been completed to test the product resistance to the damage. The tests results have been computed with the consumer sensitivity to obtain the consumer-based quality score. Finally, the ranking method is applied on T-shirts, and a single score ranking is made possible and objectively depict perceived quality.

Development of a Consumer-Based Quality Scale for Artisan Textiles: A Study with Scarves/Shawls

“…Their findings highlighted the fact that the loss of color of textiles can be ascribed to several aspects (e.g., water, light, rubbing, domestic laundering, and hot pressing). For the current study, it is thus likely that when consumers were asked to rate the samples based on the degree of colorfastness, they might have interpreted the question differently based on their past personal experiences with colorfastness [34]. The ambiguous nature of the colorfastness question had a significant effect on the internal consistency (reliability) of the textile-quality scale, which explains why the statement was dropped.…”

“…Garside [55] identified hydrolysis, light damage, and oxidation as the main sources of fiber and fabric degradation in textiles. Benkirane et al [34] stated that durability does not just cover the physical endurance of abrasion and colorfastness, but rather also the emotional durability that a consumer associates with the textile. When purchasing textile clothing, consumers usually think about what the color of the textile would be when washed, dry cleaned, ironed, or when exposed to water or light, as all these are known to affect the color of textile [48].…”

“…There also is consumer-based research on people's perceptions of the quality of textiles, but this type of research is quite limited [33]. Benkirane et al [34] developed a multi-attribute ranking method based on an overall quality score to rank and determine perceived quality. Li et al [14] noted that consumers identified brand and fashion as the least important characteristics of tight-fit garments, while comfort and garment fit were pinpointed as the most important characteristics.…”

“…Several consumer textile-quality values have been based on online surveys that used ideal (non-physical) textiles or pictures of textiles to collect consumer perceptions [16,34,38,39]. This method assumes that respondents used past textile experiences and only the sense of sight to evaluate the quality of the samples.…”

A New Longevity Design Methodology Based on Consumer-Oriented Quality for Fashion Products

“…As longevity is a multi-factorial and complex concept, it should integrate all dimensions of product quality. To do so, we rely on a previous study in which a single product-and consumerdependent index, known as consumer-oriented quality (CoQ), has been developed to quantify clothing longevity [41]. It enables multiple textile qualities to be aggregated according to the significance that the consumer attaches to them.…”