A Review on Sustainable Product Design, Marketing Strategies and Conscious Consumption of Bamboo Lifestyle Products

Conscious consumption is a trend that is here to stay since consumers are becoming more aware of their purchasing decision and its impact on their health & environment. To sustain in the market on the move towards sustainability and meet the demands, companies need to re-examine their footprints and incorporate green practices in their products and organization. Using eco-friendly material & processes is one of the remedies to come up with this, and bamboo is one of the most versatile, green and renewable natural resources on planet earth. Traditionally bamboo has been exploited to a large extent but cutting-edge options available for bamboo are still limited and have a scope of indulging fully in the lifestyle of people in India. The global market size of bamboo was valued at UED 53.28 billion in 2020, and it is expected to grow at compound annual growth rate of 5.7% from 2022 to 2028. There is increasing demand for sustainable construction, and furniture and handicraft products also have considerable weightage. Manny brands and craft clusters of bamboo are realizing and promoting this green quotient of bamboo to the market to attract the eco-conscious audience and trying to cope up with the advancement of sustainability, like certifications of being a green organisation. Despite the exceptional qualities of bamboo, it is considered as a marginalized material due to low production rate, high competition with the non-eco-friendly or cheaper alternatives, aesthetics and marketing gaps. There is a gap between willingness to purchase and an actual purchase when it comes to the sustainable products and marketing plays a major role in conversions. The main purpose of the research is to study and understand the product, craft, design, production processes and marketing practices of bamboo lifestyle products and how conscious consumption patterns influence the bamboo products and the industry in relevance to the sustainability. Exploratory research method was applied with the literature survey and reviewing of the research papers from the peer reviewed journals. They were classified and reviewed based on the areas relevant to the bamboo products. The research outcome revealed the research gaps and the results were discussed and presented with the perspectives of product design, conscious consumption and marketing strategies in relevant to the sustainability of bamboo lifestyle products.

A Review on Apparel Fashion Trends, Visual Merchandising and Fashion Branding

Visual merchandising encourages customers to enter the store by making it appealing to them and influencing their perception of it. It is the art of putting together effective display designs and ideas in order to boost store traffic and sales. It’s also a way to engage with customers and influence their purchasing decisions. A fashion trend occurs when a particular item, silhouette, color, or other new look rises in popularity. It changes with the seasons, and the store serves as a hub for communicating these changes to potential customers. Because items must be sold within a certain time frame, several display tactics are used to best present the merchandise and communicate the current fashion trends to customers. Visual merchandising becomes a key aspect of difference from merchants in the same category as retail firms, particularly fashion brands, try to compete in an already saturated market. Effective branding is now a vital success component for all types of fashion firms. Fashion brands may use effective branding tactics to build equity, promote consumer brand loyalty, and increase profitability. Visual merchandising is critical for inferring various customers’ perspectives and adding value to businesses. Its major goal is no longer to make items appealing in order to sell them quickly;it is rather to stand out, develop the correct brand image, and give the greatest possible customer experience. Visual merchandising aspects, when employed correctly, can infiltrate the buyer’s brain and prompt them to generate a favorable opinion of the store, allowing it to leverage its brand image. In this context, this research review focuses and aims to study the link between visual merchandising and Apparel Fashion trends, to study the relationship between visual merchandising and fashion branding and to find out the research gaps and scope for future research directions in the area of visual merchandising applied in fashion apparel industry.

Impacts of Transparency and Traceability on Fashion Supply Chain System

The level of fashion consumer awareness and communication regarding sustainable consumption is rising. Organizations are working to provide clarity and guidance on fashion consumption. Brands are experimenting with new materials and supply chain strategies, and suppliers are improving the manufacturing processes and quality of products. However, given the size and complexity of the industrial process, these efforts are not adequate in ensuring a sustainable fashion supply chain. Transparency and traceability in the fashion supply chain are needed to improve the fashion industry by supporting sustainable and ethical practices in the apparel supply chain. Key gaps include a lack of comprehensive and transparent information about how, where, and by whom materials are sourced, processed, and assembled;a lack of transparency in the supply chain practices and procedures affects the environment, working conditions, and human health. The industry has to build the capacity to manage its supply chain, more effectively and responsibly, by improving transparency and traceability as the top goals. So, in this context, the main purpose of this research paper is to study the impacts of transparency and traceability on the dimensions of sustainability in fashion supply chain. The researchers have applied descriptive research methods in which secondary data are collected and analyzed through a literature review of peer-reviewed research papers and the primary data are collected through the survey method by distributing a semi structured questionnaire. The data collected are analyzed using statistical tools and techniques. Finally, the results are discussed and presented.

Implementation of Hybrid Genetic Algorithm for CLSC Network Design Problem—A Case Study on Fashion Leather Goods Industry

The implementation of closed loop supply chain system is becoming essential for fashion leather products industry to ensure an economically sustainable business model and eco-friendly industrial practice as demanded by the environmental regulations, consumer awareness and the prevailing social consciousness. In this context, this research work addresses a closed loop supply chain network problem of fashion leather goods industry, with an objective of minimizing the total cost of the entire supply chain and also reducing the total waste from the end of life product returns. The research work commenced with a literature review on the reverse and closed loop supply chain network design problems of fashion and leather goods industry dealt in the past. Then, the identified CLSCND problem is solved using a mathematical model based on Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programme (MINLP) and then a suitable Hybrid Genetic Algorithm (HGA) developed for the CLSCND is implemented for obtaining optimum solution. Both the MINLP model and HGA are customized as per the CLSCND problem chosen and implemented for the industrial case of an Indian Fashion Leather Goods Industry. Finally, the solutions obtained for MINLP model in LINGO 15 and for HGA in VB.NET platform are compared and presented. The optimum solution obtained from the suitable HGA is illustrated as an optimum shipment pattern for the closed loop supply chain network design problem of the fashion leather goods industry case.

Development and Comparison of Hybrid Genetic Algorithms for Network Design Problem in Closed Loop Supply Chain

This paper presents four different hybrid genetic algorithms for network design problem in closed loop supply chain. They are compared using a complete factorial experiment with two factors, viz. problem size and algorithm. Based on the significance of the factor “algorithm”, the best algorithm is identified using Duncan’s multiple range test. Then it is compared with a mathematical model in terms of total cost. It is found that the best hybrid genetic algorithm identified gives results on par with the mathematical model in statistical terms. So, the best algorithm out of four algorithm proposed in this paper is proved to be superior to all other algorithms for all sizes of problems and its performance is equal to that of the mathematical model for small size and medium size problems.

An Integrated Multi-Echelon Model for a Sustainable Closed Loop Supply Chain Network Design

The integration of entire supply and value chain into a closed loop network is gaining more importance in recent times in order to ensure a business to be economically and environmentally sustainable with the changing trends in business and social environments, growing environmental consciousness in the society and government legislations to protect the environment as well as the business. In this context, this paper considers a multi-echelon closed loop supply chain network design with forward and reverse logistics components. An attempt has been made to develop a mixed integer non-linear programming model for this problem with different costs so that the sum of the total cost is minimized subject to different constraints pertaining to capacities of the entities of the system, demands of first customers and second customers. A generalized model is presented and then its application is illustrated using an example problem by solving the model using LINGO14. This model forms as a tool to compare future meta-heuristics to check the closeness of their solutions with corresponding optimal solutions.

Literature Review on Network Design Problems in Closed Loop and Reverse Supply Chains

The productivity of an organization is very much affected by non-value adding activity like logistics, which moves the resources from suppliers to factory, raw materials/semi-finished items within the factory and finished goods from factory to customers via a designated distribution channel called as forward logistics. In some cases, parts of the products such as automobiles, computers, cameras, mobile phones, washing machines, refrigerators, garments, footwear and empty glass bottles of beverages, etc. will be brought back to the factories as a product recovery strategy through reverse logistics network which is integrated in a sustainable closed loop supply chain network. So, it is highly essential to optimize the movement of the items in the reverse logistics network. This paper gives a comprehensive review of literature of the design of networks for the reverse logistics as well as for the reverse logistics coupled with forward logistics. The contributions of the researchers are classified into nine categories based on the methods used to design the logistics network.