Firefighters wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for protection from environmental hazards. However, due to the layers of protective functions, the PPE inevitably adds excessive weight, bulkiness, and thermal stress to firefighters. This study investigated the adverse impact of wearing PPE as an occupational stressor on the firefighter’s cognitive functioning. Twenty-three firefighters who had been involved in firefighting at least for 1 year were recruited. The overall changing trend in the firefighter’s cognitive functioning (short-term memory, long-term memory, and inductive reasoning) was measured by the scores of three standardized cognitive tests at the baseline and the follow-up, after participating in a moderate-intensity physical activity, wearing a full ensemble of the PPE. The study findings evinced the negative impact of the PPE on the firefighter’s cognitive functioning, especially in short-term memory and inductive reasoning. No significant influence was found on the firefighter’s long-term memory. The results were consistent when the participant’s age and BMI were controlled. The outcomes of the present study will not only fill the gap in the literature, but also provide critical justification to stakeholders, including governments, policymakers, academic communities, and industry, for such efforts to improve human factors of the firefighter’s PPE by realizing the negative consequences of the added layers and protective functions on their occupational safety. Study limitations and future directions were also discussed.
The mass production after the industrialisation and the fast changing fashion cycles in today’s world resulted in buying clothes and home textiles more than we need and discarding them before they complete their life cycles. This causes vast amounts of textile waste that creates environmental issues. Upcycling is the creative process of transforming clothing and textile waste by reusing deadstock or used fabric to create new garments and products. It holds importance in terms of sustainability, reducing waste and environmental pollution. During the process of upcycling, certainly the creativity and innovation are the key words because to reuse a product to a better value needs a creative mind, aesthetic consciousness, innovative look and knowledge and it is quite different from a normal design procedure. There is a delicate level of aesthetics which carries the reused materials to a higher value. The handling of the materials, knowing how to manipulate the waste material, the techniques available to apply to surfaces, the concept of two and three dimension on textiles and clothing, contributions of other branches of art such as sculpture and painting all help the designer to reach a higher aesthetic value in the upcycled product in this process. In the study; it was aimed to raise awareness, to attract attention to sustainable fashion and also to contribute to sustainable development as an upcycling design project realized with students in textile and fashion design education taken as an example.
This study examined whether and how consumers who seek a bargain in their shopping for luxury fashion brands differ from traditional luxury consumers or non-luxury consumers on their market-related attitudes. To do so, this study compared multi-dimensional perceived values, fairness price perceptions, satisfaction with purchase, brand loyalty, and future purchase intention among luxury consumers, luxury-bargain seekers, and non-luxury consumers. Data was obtained from online surveys and the market-related attitudes were compared using an ANOVA test. The comparion of three types of consumers revealed that luxury-bargain seekers and regular luxury consumers are distinct consumer markets. Overall, luxury consumers displayed high perceived values and brand loyalty and were fairly satisfied with the purchase at full-prices. On the other hand, luxury-bargain seekers showed significantly low perceived social value, perceived fairness toward the original price of the brands, and brand loyalty. They were satisfied with the bargain purchase but not likely to purchase the luxury at full-prices in the future. Understanding these distinct types of consumers and targeting them with different product and pricing strategies are important for luxury brands and retailers to expand luxury consumer base without diluting their brands’ prestige image. Potential marketing strategies based on the findings of this study were suggested.
This study identified types of online retail internationalization in the fast-fashion context and proposed driving factors of retailers’ choices in online-based market entry following the logic of the Uppsala model and the eclectic theory. In particular, this study proposes three types of online-based internationalization: 1) entering a host market with a physical store first, and then expanding with an online store, 2) entering a foreign market with an online store, then expanding to physical stores, and 3) entering only with an online business. In addition, this study investigated the causal factors, ownership-specific and location advantages, that influence the choice of the type of developmental process of online-based internationalization. To develop theoretical and managerial insights into the issue researched, this study employed a qualitative research design involving case studies of three European fast-fashion retailers, H&M, TOPSHOP, and ASOS. This study suggested that fast-fashion retailers that enter a host market with high ownership-specific advantages are likely to choose to enter the market with physical stores and then expand with online stores. On the other hand, when faced with uncertainties attributable to low ownershipspecific or location advantages, fast-fashion retailers are likely to choose to enter with an online store first and then expand with physical stores as conditions change. Consequently, this study provides a better understanding for fast-fashion retailers who are willing to expand their businesses to foreign markets via online stores.
The purpose of this study is to examine the compensatory role of instrumental (e.g., product information) and aesthetic (e.g., website background) online cues presented within apparel websites where touch is unavailable. The moderating role of two need for touch (NFT) dimensions (i.e., autotelic and instrumental NFT) between online cues and consumer responses was also investigated. Results demonstrate that personal differences in autotelic and instrumental NFT moderate the relationship between online cues and affective responses. It was found that consumers high in autotelic NFT (i.e., who need to touch for fun) seek more instrumental cues to compensate for lack of touch when shopping apparel products online. Surprisingly, consumers high in instrumental NFT (i.e., who need to touch for product evaluation) use aesthetic as well as instrumental cues to supplement the absence of touch. In contrast, for the low NFT groups, only aesthetic online cues showed significant effects on consumer arousal. Further analysis shows that instrumental NFT is negatively related to purchase intention while autotelic NFT has a positive effect on purchase intention. This implies that need for hedonic-oriented touch is no longer a barrier for online apparel shopping. However, the instrumental NFT seems a significant obstacle for the adoption of online apparel purchasing.
Due principally to the desire to seek lower production costs, the bulk of the world’s textile and clothing manufacture migrated to low-cost zones, mainly outside Europe, over the course of the late-twentieth century. In the early-twenty-first century, fast fashion became a dominant force worldwide, with ‘Western’ retail buyers hunting cheaper deals from clothing manufacturers (mainly in Asia), and with occasional disasters not changing matters beyond the duration of a fashion season. Progressively, seams became narrower, cheaper raw materials were used and durability was no longer an aim. Why bother to do otherwise? This was what the ‘Western’ consumer wanted: fashion to be worn only a few times and then discarded, despite the fact that vast amounts of human, technological and financial resources were wasted in such a quest. By the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, the production of textile and clothing products continued to contribute substantially to global warming. This paper reviews briefly the current conditions of manufacture, and argues that the research agenda should be focused on addressing the implications of a progressively changed focus, not on fast-fashion products, but instead on the production of products with greater durability. Meanwhile ‘Western’ consumers need to turn away from fast fashion and realise that waste is bad for their economy and their society. It is argued further, that after a period of re-adjustment, substantial financial rewards await the national textile and clothing industries that undergo such a turn around.
Climate change and global warming are the biggest challenges of the current generation. Every industry has contributed to the climate change and global warming. Even the apparel industry cannot avoid the criticism regarding fast fashion and its contribution to the pollution. The transition to the decarbonized economy is in progress. All aspects of business functions are influenced by climate change. Sustainable development and climate change are closely linked, and business plays the key role in addressing and finding solutions to the challenges of climate change. Luxury brands are the trendsetters and tastemakers. They are the leaders in the fashion industry and therefore responsible for improving on sustainability as well. Even luxury business cannot avoid environmental issues. The relation between luxury and sustainability is explored with the Burberry case based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework. There are various ways for luxury brands to excel in sustainability and affect other companies’ practices. The companies can incorporate the concept of sustainability in their brand stories as part of the branding process. They can also improve demand planning accuracy and produce upcycled goods. Centering on Burberry’s case, this paper aims to explore the current sustainable practices of luxury business along with its future direction toward sustainable development. Its contribution and directions for both researchers and business practitioners are discussed.
A teaching manual was developed to incorporate the creative problem solving process into a fashion marking course. Students’ creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and analytical thinking are promoted by applying the creative problem solving process systematically to solve authentic business problems experienced by local apparel business owners. This teaching manual is based on the FourSight Model that consists of Clarify, Ideate, Develop, and Implement. Various tools promoting divergent thinking are also utilized in the process. A local fashion business is invited as a problem owner and four resource groups are formed with students based on the results of the Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory. Each resource group consists of 6-8 students. The creative problem solving process is implemented into a classroom setting as four 75-minutes sessions that are held twice a week for two consecutive weeks. The local fashion business owner will be in presence during the first (Clarify) and last (Implement) sessions. The instructor facilitator meets with the problem owner outside the classroom three times including pre-session client interview, after the second (Ideate) session, and before the third (Develop) session. This modified CPS manual for fashion marketing and merchandising courses provides practical guidelines to work with local fashion businesses while providing students with learning opportunities of the creative problem solving process.