Enabling Multidisciplinary Perspective in Student Design Project:  Fast Fashion and Sustainable Manufacturing Systems

Vukica M. Jovanovic; Manveer Mann; Petros J Katsioloudis; Daniel L. Dickerson

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Green and Sustainable Manufacturing Education
Tagged Division: Manufacturing
Page Count: 10
Page Numbers: 24.479.1 - 24.479.10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20370
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20370
Download Count: 447

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Paper Authors

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Vukica M. Jovanovic Old Dominion University orcid.org/0000-0002-8626-903X

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Dr. Jovanovic is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology Department, Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA. Prior to joining ODU's Engineering Technology Department Dr. Jovanovic was teaching at Trine University, Angola, Indiana at Design Engineering Technology Department. Before Trine, she was working as an instructor and a graduate research assistant at Product Lifecycle Management Center of Excellence at Purdue University. She also served as instructor in STEM Academic Boot Camp, Diversity Program. Prior to joining Purdue, Dr. Jovanovic worked as a faculty at University of Novi Sad at departments of Industrial Engineering and Management. Dr. Jovanovic received M.Eng. (dipl.ing.) degree from University of Novi Sad, Serbia in Robotics, Mechatronics and Automation and M.Sc. (Magistar) degree in Production Systems Design, both at Department of Industrial Engineering. She received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University. In addition, Dr. Jovanovic's scholarly publications include 50 journal articles and papers in conference proceedings, two technical reports, and seven poster presentations focusing on mechatronics, product identification, product lifecycle management, assembly systems, collaborative engineering, automation, and energy efficiency. She was active member of European Robotic Association EUROBOT, and currently serves as a co-advisor of ODU IEEE Car Team. She had internships in engineering services, aerospace, and power generation industries.

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DANIEL DICKERSON, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Science Education in the Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University. His research focuses on the teaching and learning of earth and environmental science content, environmental education, and socioscientific issues in science education. He is a former high school earth science teacher who has served as PI, Co-PI, or Evaluator on NOAA, NSF, US Department of Education, IMLS, state, and foundation funded projects.

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Abstract

Fast Fashion and Sustainable Manufacturing SystemsAbstract:Fast fashion retailers are growing faster than any other type of retailer due to their ability to offer trendylow-cost clothing mimicking latest runway trends with turnaround times as low as two weeks. Fueled byshort production and distribution lead times, fast fashion retailers combine rapid prototyping, smallbatches of fashionable product designs, and efficient transportations and delivery. Although these retailershave nimble and efficient supply chains but the business philosophy in essence is unsustainable. Due tothe quick-turnaround of the inventory, profitability is often based on the ability of the retailer to increasethe frequency of customer visits, with some devoted customers visiting the stores every three weeks.Furthermore, low-cost and quality of the product encourages obsolescence and disposability, thuspotentially leaving a significant environmental footprint. For example, the extensive use of polyester andother synthetic fibers requires large amounts of crude oil and releases emissions such as volatile organiccompounds and acid gases which can cause respiratory diseases. Even the use of natural fibers such ascotton has environmental implications at the various stages of the product-lifecycle, including high use ofpesticides to grow cotton, post-purchase consumption of significant amount of energy in washing anddrying at high temperatures, and eventually disposing the product in lieu of a new trend available at thelocal fast-fashion store. Therefore, to make an assessment of the environmental impact of fast fashionsystems it is critical to examine the cradle-to-grave processes. Such as systematic examination can exposeopportunities presented by modern green manufacturing methods to reduce the environment impact ofthese systems. Among others, the methods that we are interested in examining in the context of fast-fashion include mass customization and personalization, and lean manufacturing. Current trends inmanufacturing lean towards the application of digital and rapid manufacturing methods and increased useof product lifecycle management, knowledge management systems and computer integratedmanufacturing. Furthermore, modern fashion systems span geographical regions, wherein design andmanufacturing is not necessarily done at the same location and it requires coordination of many pairs ofhands and machines, followed by multiple processes and treatments to meet the demands of everdecreasing time-to-market. These systems can be streamlined to reduce their environmental impact usinga variety of management concepts related to manufacturing including intelligent, adaptive and e‐manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing systems, energy‐efficient processes and systems. Therefore, thepurpose of this paper is to assemble a team of researchers with diverse backgrounds and experiences infashion, engineering, and industrial technology in order to examine various manufacturing systemconcepts that can be used to enhance the sustainability of fast-fashion systems.Key Words:Fast fashion, Sustainable manufacturing systems, Product lifecycle management, Mass customization andpersonalization, Lean manufacturing

Citation
Format

Jovanovic, V. M., & Mann, M., & Katsioloudis, P. J., & Dickerson, D. L. (2014, June), Enabling Multidisciplinary Perspective in Student Design Project: Fast Fashion and Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20370

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                  Fast Fashion and Sustainable Manufacturing SystemsAbstract:Fast fashion retailers are growing faster than any other type of retailer due to their ability to offer trendylow-cost clothing mimicking latest runway trends with turnaround times as low as two weeks. Fueled byshort production and distribution lead times, fast fashion retailers combine rapid prototyping, smallbatches of fashionable product designs, and efficient transportations and delivery. Although these retailershave nimble and efficient supply chains but the business philosophy in essence is unsustainable. Due tothe quick-turnaround of the inventory, profitability is often based on the ability of the retailer to increasethe frequency of customer visits, with some devoted customers visiting the stores every three weeks.Furthermore, low-cost and quality of the product encourages obsolescence and disposability, thuspotentially leaving a significant environmental footprint. For example, the extensive use of polyester andother synthetic fibers requires large amounts of crude oil and releases emissions such as volatile organiccompounds and acid gases which can cause respiratory diseases. Even the use of natural fibers such ascotton has environmental implications at the various stages of the product-lifecycle, including high use ofpesticides to grow cotton, post-purchase consumption of significant amount of energy in washing anddrying at high temperatures, and eventually disposing the product in lieu of a new trend available at thelocal fast-fashion store. Therefore, to make an assessment of the environmental impact of fast fashionsystems it is critical to examine the cradle-to-grave processes. Such as systematic examination can exposeopportunities presented by modern green manufacturing methods to reduce the environment impact ofthese systems. Among others, the methods that we are interested in examining in the context of fast-fashion include mass customization and personalization, and lean manufacturing. Current trends inmanufacturing lean towards the application of digital and rapid manufacturing methods and increased useof product lifecycle management, knowledge management systems and computer integratedmanufacturing. Furthermore, modern fashion systems span geographical regions, wherein design andmanufacturing is not necessarily done at the same location and it requires coordination of many pairs ofhands and machines, followed by multiple processes and treatments to meet the demands of everdecreasing time-to-market. These systems can be streamlined to reduce their environmental impact usinga variety of management concepts related to manufacturing including intelligent, adaptive and e‐manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing systems, energy‐efficient processes and systems. Therefore, thepurpose of this paper is to assemble a team of researchers with diverse backgrounds and experiences infashion, engineering, and industrial technology in order to examine various manufacturing systemconcepts that can be used to enhance the sustainability of fast-fashion systems.Key Words:Fast fashion, Sustainable manufacturing systems, Product lifecycle management, Mass customization andpersonalization, Lean manufacturing
AU  - Vukica M. Jovanovic
AU  - Manveer Mann
AU  - Petros J Katsioloudis
AU  - Daniel L. Dickerson
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Enabling Multidisciplinary Perspective in Student Design Project:  Fast Fashion and Sustainable Manufacturing Systems
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20370
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20370
ER  -