Thesis (M.S.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Nancy Hodges; submitted to the Dept. of Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Apr. 13, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-139).

This thesis is primarily based on ethnographic fieldwork that lasted fifteen months, between 2010 and 2012, in Keqiao, a municipal county in eastern Zhejiang Province, China. Despite its inferior administrative status and rather inland location, Keqiao is China's trading frontier for fabrics, which are the semifinished textiles that are industrially weaved, knitted, dyed, and printed in bulk before being exported. Contributing to the turnover of more than one-third of all fabric produced in China, the county's fabric wholesale market is not only the mainstay of Keqiao's economy. It is also the world's centre for fabric supplies, and where around 10,000 Indians have flocked to start their intermediary trading businesses. The major aim of this thesis is to examine the everyday encounters between Indians and Chinese in the local fabric market. It begins by exploring how Keqiao emerged as the global distribution centre for a wide variety of cheap fabrics. It also shows how Keqiao becomes characterized by the growing importance of low-end fabric sales and the influx of Indian traders, who specialize in exporting these fabrics. The thesis then describes the encounters between Indians and local Chinese in the fabric market, addressing the challenges and difficulties that these Indians, especially the newcomers, confront when dealing with the Chinese suppliers. Focusing on novice traders, the thesis turns to investigate the internal dynamics of Indian trading companies. Remarkably, novice Indian traders successfully learn several strategies to counteract their precarious position in the workplace. These strategies leverage the accumulation of work experience and expanding social networks. These insights bring the thesis to chapters that highlight other strategies, particularly those created from encounters between Indian traders and Chinese clerks, as well as those between Indian traders and Chinese salespersons. Taken together, this thesis illustrates how transnational and local actors team up to create their own, locally based, intermediary economy within a small Chinese county, and how such a collaborative economy, which I term a 'global fabric bazaar', sustains these actors. Without this collaborative economy, these players would otherwise be vulnerable within the fabric wholesale industry because this supply chain is increasingly polarized and weakened by today's global capitalism.

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Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / An assessment undertaken by the Clothing and Textile Centre in the Western Cape (Clotex) during 2002 revealed that there was a great need for quality in the clothing sector. Furthermore, the research undertaken by the Department of Science and Technology (2004) supports and recommends the development of simple, paper-based systems for implementation and measurement for quality and production systems. An analysis of the macro- and micro-environmental factors confronting the clothing industry revealed that substantial pressure was placed on the clothing industry due to unfavourable exchange rates, increased pricing and illegal imports. The result has been a decline in sales, profits and exports, which has lead to the closure of many clothing companies in the Western Cape during the period 2003 to present. Furthermore, this has resulted in the increase of SMME companies that have been established due to the increase in unemployment. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques was applied during this study, namely focus-group sessions and survey questionnaires. Six focus-group sessions were held with participants from the retail sector, large manufacturers and small manufacturers with the purpose to establish the quality needs in the clothing industry and the type of quality systems utilised. The outcome of the focus group was the development of a questionnaire, using both a combination of scale response questions as well as dichotomous questions. As a result a research survey was conducted amongst the small manufacturing companies in the Western Cape who conform to the provisions contained in the National Business Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996). The research revealed that all the respondents had implemented quality control systems. Quality control systems are viewed as preventative systems in ensuring that goods not conforming to customer specifications are prevented from reaching the customer. The research analysis further revealed that communication between buyer and seller was an integral part of the success of the business. The research provides small-business with a framework, which will facilitate the evaluation of the current quality practices with the view to improving or implementing an effective quality assurance system.

Thesis (MTech (Quality)) -- Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / Since 1996, the South African clothing and textile industries have been under tremendous pressure to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Various attempts to save the industry have been considered by both industry and Government. The attempts included the introduction of quotas with the aim to limit imports, the formulation of clusters, and improving the value chain between the clothing manufacture textile companies and the clothing retail companies. More specific, focus was leveled at the improvement of the industry’s productivity and quality management systems. In spite of these efforts, sectors of the South African clothing and textile industries are closing down. Although the clothing and textile industries are experiencing a decline in large companies, there has been a steady increase in the number of emerging Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) commonly referred to as CMT’s (Cut Make and Trims) within the context of the clothing industry. The research question which was researched within the ambit of this dissertation read as follows: What actions are required for Total Quality Management (TQM) to be successful implemented within South African clothing manufacturing SME’s?” The objective of this research was to determine what challenges are facing South African clothing manufacturing SME’s, and the reasons for the lack of successful implementation of TQM systems within the South African clothing manufacturing SME’s. Furthermore, to determine if there is a relationship between the planning behavior of SME’s and lack of TQM implementation and to what extent the accreditation process impact upon TQM implementations within SME’s. The survey conducted within SME’s provided positive feedback with respect to quality processes being followed. In spite of this the following challenges were identified: The lack of employee involvement in decision-making, miscommunication between management and employees, and the dissatisfaction of employees.

Thesis (DTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / This thesis is an investigation into environmental sustainability in the South African fashion industry, with a particular focus on the role of design therein. The fashion and textile industry is a significant contributor to the South African economy and a major user of human and natural resources. It is through the use of resources – natural, constructed and human – that the industry is also supposedly damaging to the natural environment and the people working within it. Notable authors on environmentally sustainable design and, in particular, environmentally sustainable fashion design, seem to suggest that a holistic approach to environmental sustainability is fundamental to the implementation thereof. Design has the ability to direct change, and thus design and designers have the potential to drive holistic sustainable practices in the fashion system.The question this research therefore poses is what the role of environmental sustainability should be in a design-driven approach in the South African fashion industry; interrogated through an exploratory and descriptive case study. The case study consists of three purposively selected sub-units that operate within an environmentally sustainable focus in their fashion businesses, and that design, produce, and retail fashion products. The aim of the research was to explore, through a snapshot of the South African fashion system, the implementation of environmental sustainability in the fashion industry in South Africa, in order to determine what role fashion design practice can have in developing environmental sustainability in the fashion system.The most notable finding of the research highlights the immense difficulty of operating as a fashion business from an environmentally sustainable focus in South Africa due to the lack (and unsuitability) of resources that can be considered environmentally sustainable. The declining textile industry of South Africa makes it either almost impossible, or very costly, to work within an environmentally sustainable framework, and is a major impediment in the implementation of environmental sustainability in praxis. Therefore, those businesses that decide to operate within an environmentally sustainable framework do so because of inherent personal values and ethics.The second aspect identified in the survey of scholarship and underpinned by the findings, is a need for a transformative approach with regard to design praxis and how design praxis can influence consumer eco-consciousness. The research concludes with a recommended framework that suggests a holistic and integrated approach to design-driven environmental sustainability in the South African fashion industry, and elaborates on the role of the fashion designer in the implementation of environmental sustainability in the fashion system. The holistic and integrated approach should extend into fashion design education, requiring a fundamental shift in current fashion design education in South Africa. / University of Johannesburg

Diante da crise energética que o Brasil enfrentou nos anos de 2000/2001, as empresas passaram a procurar novas alternativas de energia visando manter o nível de produção. Uma alternativa capaz de fazer a substituição da energia elétrica e de outras fontes energéticas consideradas nocivas ao meio ambiente e, de ao mesmo tempo, proporcionar benefícios econômicos, operacionais, ambientais e até de qualidade do produto para as empresas consumidoras parece ser a utilização do gás natural (GN). O presente trabalho identifica os fatores que interferem na adoção do gás natural como energético alternativo em empresas da indústria têxtil da região administrativa de Campinas (SP) e verifica a viabilidade tanto em termos econômicos quanto estratégicos de projetos de investimento desta natureza. Para isso, são realizadas pesquisas descritivo-exploratórias e um estudo de caso junto às empresas têxteis dessa região. O trabalho apresenta resultados tanto de caráter qualitativo como quantitativo que ajudam as empresas têxteis a decidir se adota ou não o GN em seus processos produtivos. É interessante destacar também que não foram encontrados, na literatura pesquisada, estudos semelhantes, o que demonstra a carência de pesquisas envolvendo o tema. O aporte teórico desta proposta está baseado na indústria têxtil, na importância do gás natural para a indústria, nas estratégias, na inovação tecnológica e na análise de investimento. / Due to the energy crisis Brazil faced in 2000/2001, companies started to look for new alternatives of energy in order to keep production level. An alternative capable to replace electric energy and other energy sources considered harmful to the environment and at the same time able to cause economic, operational, environmental, and even product-quality profits to consumer enterprises seems to be natural gas (NG). The current research identifies factors that interfere in the adoption of natural gas as an alternative energy source in textile industry located in Campinas (SP) and surroundings, as well as it analyses the viability both in economic and strategic terms of investments of this nature. For this purpose, a descriptive-exploratory research was done, in addition to a case-study of textile companies from that location. This research presents both qualitative and quantitative results, which will help textile companies decide if they will adopt NG or not on their productive processes. It is also interesting to emphasize that other similar studies were not found, which demonstrate a lack of research on this subject. The theoretical framework is based on textile industry, as well as on importance of natural gas to industry, strategies, technological innovation and on investment analysis.

O trabalho estuda a competitividade internacional do setor têxtil, através das interações da cadeia produtiva. Especificamente, se verifica como a internacionalização do varejo está influenciando a competitividade internacional dos fornecedores de confeccionados têxteis, especificamente aquelas com foco em vestuário e acessórios. Pretende-se contribuir, ainda, para o aperfeiçoamento da capacidade de competir internacionalmente do setor de confeccionados têxteis. O ponto de partida é a revisão teórica dos temas competitividade internacional, estratégias de globalização e alianças estratégicas, contrapondo-os com os casos, sete no total. Portanto, o método utilizado é o de estudo de múltiplos casos, sendo a seleção realizada através de visitas aos pontos de venda das empresas varejistas selecionadas, localizados na região metropolitana de São Paulo. Verificou-se que: (1) Em somente uma empresa há esforço para criar marcas internacionais; (2) A rede de relacionamentos pode ter desempenhado papel fundamental para o sucesso competitivo em muitas das empresas estudadas; (3) Somente uma das empresas brasileiras (há duas multinacionais na amostra) tem como estratégia aumentar o valor adicionado dos produtos vendidos pela empresa; (4) Há consciência, por parte de pelo menos uma empresa, que nem sempre mão-de-obra de baixo custo é garantia de sucesso neste setor; (5) Pode haver obstáculos dentro da cadeia têxtil para que as empresas de confeccionados atendam ao padrão de qualidade exigido pelos varejistas internacionais nos países desenvolvidos. O trabalho traz ainda muitos outros fatos e um quadro com recomendações para alguns dos casos estudados. / The study analyzes the international competitiveness of the textile sector through supply chain interactions. It specifically verifies how the globalization of the retail sector influences the international competitiveness of garment suppliers, all of them listed as vendors of international retailers operating in Brazil. The effort aims to contribute to enhancing the international competitive strength of garment makers. The starting point is a theoretical review of the themes: International Competitiveness, Globalization Strategies and Strategic Alliances; comparing the concepts with what was found in the field study. The research method is a multiple case study. Cases were selected through visits to the points-of-sale of the international retailers, all of them located in the metropolitan area of the city of Sao Paulo. The main findings are: (1) Only one company is endeavoring to create international brands; (2) The network of alliances might have had an instrumental role in the competitive success of many of the companies; (3) Only one of the Brazilian companies pursues the strategy of increasing the added value of the products it sells; (4) In at least one company there is awareness that low wages will not always bring success in this sector; (5) There might be hurdles in the textile supply chain that halt the garment makers to comply with the pattern demanded by international retailers in the operations they carry in developed countries. Many other interesting facts were found and a chart with recommendations to some of the cases studied is presented.

Orientador: Vera Hercilia (Vavy) Pacheco Borges / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T21:02:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bonadio_MariaClaudia_D.pdf: 14076896 bytes, checksum: 6de885ee6c1fb252452348c8699132ae (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar as políticas de publicidade empregadas no Brasil pela Divisão Têxtil da Rhodia S.A, entre 1960-1970. Elaboradas por Lívio Rangan,então diretor de publicidade da empresa, foram executadas pela equipe de profissionais da Standard Propaganda, a fim de criar o gosto pelo fio sintético (produto sobre o qual a Rhodia deteve exclusividade de produção, no país, até 1968) e popularizar o seu uso e ocasionaram uma verdadeira ¿revolução do vestuário¿. Essa política de publicidade foi calcada na produção de editoriais de moda para revistas e de desfiles, os quais conjugavam elementos da cultura nacional (música, arte e pintura), com a finalidade de associar o produto da multinacional à criação de uma "moda brasileira".Tais espetáculos são uma novidade que dinamiza os desfiles e neles introduz uma nova estética e configuração. A tese ocupa-se, ainda, da importância de tais políticas para a profissionalização do campo da moda no Brasil / Abstract: This study aims to analyze the politics of advertising used by the Textiles Division of Rhodia S.A in Brazil, between 1960-1970. The advertising campaings were elaborated for Lívio Rangan (then managing of advertising of the company), and were executed by a team of professionals at Standard Propaganda, in order to create taste and to popularize the use of synthetic fibers (produced in Brazil exclusively by Rhodia up to 1968), causing a true ¿clothing revolution¿. This advertising policy was based on the production of fashion editorials for magazines and of shows, which conjugated elements of the Brazilian national culture (music, art and painting), in order to associate the product of a multinational company to the ¿Brazilian fashion¿. Such fashion spectacles are a novelty that brought dynamism to the shows and introduced a new aesthetic. The politics of the professionalization of the field of fashion in Brazil and its importance are thus the object of this thesis / Doutorado / Politica, Memoria e Cidade / Doutor em História

Orientador: Rui Guilherme Granziera / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T02:32:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Teixeira_CleudiaMenezesGraca_M.pdf: 46767929 bytes, checksum: 16d3c862e9ef34e8cf294238cf2c103c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / Resumo: Este trabalho tem como objetivo resgatar o processo histórico de criação e funcionamento das fábricas de tecido, fundadas e instaladas na cidade de Caxias, nos anos de 1883, 1889, 1891 e 1892, Companhia Industrial Caxiense, Companhia União Caxiense, Fábrica Sanharó e Companhia Manufatora Caxiense, respectivamente. Destaca-se a importância histórica da Companhia Industrial Caxiense, por ter sido a primeira indústria de fiação e tecelagem do Estado do Maranhão. Procurou-se compreender o ciclo do desenvolvimento da indústria têxtil caxiense, no quadro do processo de industrialização têxtil no Brasil, e das condições econômicas da Província do Maranhão e da cidade de Caxias, entre o último quartel do século XIX e a primeira metade do século XX. A amplitude do tema exigiu um esforço de busca de documentação identificada nos arquivos da cidade de Caxias e de São Luís-MA, com a qual se teceu os fios deste primeiro trabalho de sistematização / Abstract: This work has had as an aim to retrieve the historic process of the creation and running of textiles factories founded and installed in the town of Caxias by Companhia Industrial Caxiense (1883), Companhia União Caxiense (1889), Fábrica Sanharó (1891) and Companhia Manufatora Caxiense (1892). The historic importance of the Companhia Industrial Caxiense is highlighted for having been the first spinning and weaving industry in the state of Maranhão. We have tried to understand the developing cycle of Caxias textile industry within the scenery of Brazilian textile industrialization, and the economical conditions of the old Province of Maranhão and Caxias town, between the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century and the first half of the Twentieth Century. The amplitude of the theme has demanded an effort in the search of documentation identified in the archives of Caxias and São Luis-MA, with which the treads of this first systematization work have been woven / Mestrado / Mestre em História Econômica