Global denim jeans market size is over 70 billion dollars today, and it continues to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2%. As a reflection of this annual growth, systems’ waste generation also increases. Textile waste including denim accounts for nearly 5% of all landfill space, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Today, efficient recycling technologies are essential to revive the waste generated. Recycling technologies potentially represent a new way to engineer products. This book chapter analyzes these different recycling technologies and their advantages and challenges and concentrates on denim fabrics produced with recycled content. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is adopted to quantify and compare the environmental impact of recycled denim fabrics. The chapter concludes the challenges and the future of recycling, creating systems, and engineering of waste. The view of seeing waste as a raw material potentially represents a new opportunity to design circular systems.

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the applicability of a finite element method (FEM) to textile problems, in particular to the heat transfer behavior of plain knitted cotton fabrics. For this purpose, a heat transfer measurement unit is initially set up for the experimental study. Then, a plain weft knitted fabric model is developed using CATIA and finally the model is imported into ANSYS Workbench for analysis. A comparison of the experimental measurements with the numerical solutions showed that the FEM model developed for the heat transfer measurement including plain knitted cotton fabric produces very promising results. It also has the potential to obtain effective heat conduction coefficients of fabrics from new fibers such as bamboo, soybean, chitosan, etc., some of which are not available in the literature at present.

This study is to investigate to what extent the performance of compression stockings with cotton components deteriorates after repeated washing processes. Four compression stockings having at least one cotton constituent yarn and two all-nylon stockings as reference samples were produced under controlled commercial conditions. After analysing the data obtained, a care labelling process for the compression socks with cotton components was developed such that they can preserve their compression properties over successive laundering treatments.

Based on a decent work scale (DWS) derived from the decent work literature and tailored to the Turkish garment industry, we propose a multidimensional model showing the differentiated impacts of decent work dimensions on various facets of employee well-being. Using our customized DWS formulated from discussions with industry experts and academics, the European Working Conditions Survey (2015) and Ferraro et al.’s DWS (2018b), we employ a cross-sectional analysis using surveys of 332 white-collar employees in 6 garment firms across Türkiye. We conduct an exploratory factor analysis to identify the DWS structure and a confirmatory factor analysis to validate our model. Finally, we apply a PROCESS analysis to examine direct and indirect effects, assessing relationships among the variables. We find white-collar employees in Türkiye emphasize earnings and equity as critical resources that enhance all aspects of well-being, while workplace safety, work-family balance and work intensity have more limited effects. The analysis also reveals that physical well-being serves as a mediator between most dimensions of decent work conditions in fostering personal well-being. Our DWS measures decent work conditions specifically for the garment industry based on a unique participatory survey that adds a novel element to survey development. Utilizing conservation of resources theory, our model analyzes the relationships between decent work and employee well-being. By recognizing decent work conditions as valuable resources for well-being, the study offers insights for decision-makers in the garment sector, showing that changes in these resources influence various aspects of well-being that ultimately affect firm productivity and sustainability.

Intimate apparel is the most important clothing layer since it acts as human’s second skin due to contact with the skin directly. The comfort issues for intimate apparels are sensorial, thermal, motion, and aesthetical, all of which are interrelated. Since intimate apparel is an inner layer in between the skin and the outerwear, its thermal comfort is very important. Transferring moisture from the clothing to the environment through diffusion, wicking, sorption, and evaporation is regulated by the thickness and tightness of the fabric. On the other part, the behavior of fabric is affected by chemical and physical properties of its constituent fibers, fiber content, physical and mechanical characteristics of its constituent yarns, and the finishing treatments. Thus, major fiber manufacturers such as Nylstar, Invista, and Lenzing have launched different types of fibers such as Meryl Skinlife, Tactel, Tencel, etc., which are suitable for intimate apparel. The aim of this chapter is to introduce the latest developments in fibers used in the manufacturing of intimate apparel products and their contribution to clothing comfort, which the apparels give when the body does not limit its movement and regulation mechanism of its own temperature.