[TC]² Bi-Weekly Technology Communicator

Next Steps in Fast Fashion
At FIT, New York City
January 14, 2009

UK’s Industry Forum, [TC]² and AlixPartners are partnering to present a Fast Fashion workshop January 14th at Fashion Institute of Technology’s Reeves Great Hall, Seventh Avenue at 27th St., New York City. In an uncertain consumer environment, speed to market and flexibility are critical. Fast Fashion companies in Europe have demonstrated that their model delivers higher return on capital employed with higher inventory turns and better same store sales growth figures.

The Industry Forum will provide Fast Fashion examples of tools and techniques which have been successfully applied in Europe. [TC]² will show how Fast Fashion meets the sustainability agenda and how advances in digital technology will make processes even faster. AlixPartners will explain how to translate product development enhancements into improved financial performance.

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Corporate Social Responsibility
Creating a Competitive Advantage

By Kim Anderson, [TC]²

Aside from the economy, one of the hottest topics today is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). A recent report found that 68% of the top 250 global companies are focusing on CSR activities. Fifty-four percent of the companies reported that their CSR activities are giving them an advantage over their top competitors. The primary reasons companies are adopting CSR programs and policies are employee recruitment and retention (65%), cost management (63%) and brand building (56%).

CSR is defined in many different ways but a succinct and comprehensive definition was recently coined by Larry Graham, President of the National Confectioners Association. Graham says that the basis of CSR is “…a commitment to support community well-being through innovative business practices and community involvement. It also involves taking responsibilityfor the impact of your activities on customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders, as well as the environment.” He goes on to explain that CSR “extends beyond the statutory commitment to comply with legislation and motivates organizations to voluntarily take additional steps to improve the quality of life for employees, members of the local community and society at large.”

Patagonia, a $275 million a year privately owned company based in Ventura, California, is a leader in CSR initiatives. However, it hasn’t been a seamless endeavor. As a participating member of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) since 2001, Patagonia felt fairly confident that their supply chain was socially responsible. It became harder to ensure as the company grew and began sourcing products to new factories which offered lower cost manufacturing services. Unfortunately the factories Patagonia contracted with began subcontracting work to other factories that they knew nothing about. Patagonia lost track of who they were doing business with and what working conditions were like in many of the factories.

In 2002, the company got back on track by hiring a manager to monitor social compliance throughout the supply chain and to collaborate with the FLA to improve working conditions at every link. Today, Patagonia, known for a wide range of outdoor sports, travel and everyday wear, lets their mission statement guide their CSR programs— “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”  

Patagonia has taken steps to improve the quality of life for its employees and their families as well as for the community and society at large and feels their social and environmental efforts give them a stronger connection to their employees.

The apparel retailer, Gap Inc., has also realized the value of investing and integrating CSR programs. Today, Gap is recognized as a leader in CSR but like Patagonia, Gap Inc.’s CSR evolution has been challenging. Ten years ago, the company was perceived as one of the “poster children” of globalization gone wrong. The Gap’s very global supply chain made CSR hard to monitor. In 2006, the company was producing products in over 2,000 factories in 50 countries around the world. Today, Gap Inc. has successfully put CSR strategies in place and has a whole website dedicated to showcasing its CSR programs and policies.

Unfortunately, some companies have invested time and resources in CSR programs that have resulted in little acknowledgment or benefits. Experienced industry professionals are recommending strategies that can maximize a company’s CSR efforts. They recommend that instead of a 40-70 page report to stockholders detailing CSR programs, a short summary be written about how the company’s CSR policies have impacted their returns. They also suggest sending the media the most interesting parts of the CSR report.

Nike has brought their CSR efforts to the forefront in a “cool looking” newsletter. The newsletter is accessible and short, making it more compelling than reading a long report. This type of shorter format is easy to read as well as informative.

Today, many innovative companies are setting up programs to encourage volunteerism, diversity, ethics, environmental responsibility and healthier employees. Results from a recent study showed that CSR policies influence a consumer’s image of retailers. Consumers shopping at stores with CSR programs experience significant increases in satisfaction levels and loyalty to the store.

References
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Working to ensure that Patagonia products are produced under safe, fair, legal and humane working conditions. http://www.patagonia.com/pdf/en_US/social_response2.pdf

Gap Inc. http://www.gapinc.com

Jaquelina Jimena. The CSR: another way to communicate. August 2008 / Canadian Mining Journal.

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Seamless Technology

By Kim Anderson, [TC]²

There has been great interest in the development of seamless knit garments. A seamless knitted product has a number of advantages over the traditional cut and sewn product.

• The process of cutting and sewing is labor intensive.
• There is a concentration of stress where the seams are located which can jeopardize performance properties and ultimately result in    premature product failure.
• Cutting and sewing is often manually executed which introduces the potential for human error.
• The sewing process can create needle holes in the fabric which can damage the yarn.
• Fabric scraps produced from the cut process are discarded, resulting in fabric waste.
• Eliminating the cut and sew process allows for “quick-response production.”

To read the entire article, go to http://www.techexchange.com/thelibrary/seamless.html.

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Member Profile - OptiTex

By Karen Davis, [TC]²

OptiTex, founded in 1988, specializes in the development of innovative, easy-to-use 2D and 3D CAD/CAM solutions for the sewn products and other related industries.  Its Windows-based software packages for digitizing, pattern engineering, grading, marking, advanced automatic nesting, made-to-measure, and draping are specifically designed to meet a broad range of customer needs.

Its solutions are designed to facilitate collaboration among partners throughout the manufacturing process. OptiTex is also active in e-commerce, providing online sales tools to promote branding and customer loyalty. Additionally, OptiTex is planning the next step in providing their solutions online, and offering customers a convenient solution to accessing top OptiTex software at ws.optitex.com.

In addition to 22,000 commercial installations globally, OptiTex’s software tools are a cornerstone of design training with installations in universities and educational centers worldwide. Available in 20 languages, OptiTex products are sold and supported around the world through certified distributors and OEMs. 

“In today’s fluctuating economic situation, international companies are now looking how to best spend their budgets,” Says Ran Machtinger, CEO of OptiTex. “Technologies that thrive during difficult times are ones that are affordable with a track record of quick return on investment. OptiTex carries a cost affordable solution to companies with a technology that is not resource draining.”

The company’s product list includes OptiTex PDS Pattern Design System; Grading and Digitizing; OptiTex Marker Maker System; Nest ++2 Advanced Automatic Nesting; Match ++, a Matched Fabric Nesting System; Modulate Made-to-Measure; and the 3D Runway Suite of Tools, which includes, 3D Runway Designer, 3D Runway Creator for PDS, 3D Runway Creator for Modulate, 3D Flattening and 3D Digitizing. The OptiTex 3D Runway Designer is a cloth simulation tool which provides true-to-life draping on a 3D image.  Pre-production work associated with fitting, texture and color variation, and overall visualization is simulated with 3D Runway Designer. With realistic looking cloths, patterns and fabric characteristics, the need for sample garments is decreased, while accuracy and quality in the end product are increased.

Using [TC] ²’s high-fidelity avatar creation program, which is part of the NX-16 3D body scanner measurement extraction software, OptiTex has expanded its software to work with Tulips, a Belgian manufacturer of custom lingerie, to aid in the design process for creation of fine undergarments.

For more information on OptiTex 3D Runway Designer and other OptiTex products, visit www.optitex.com.

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Important Dates

January

February

For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com

Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors
Apparel Magazine, Gerber Technology, Lawson, Lectra, Methods Workshop and Reach Technologies.

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A Look Ahead in the Newsletter



InterModa
Colombiatex

View previous editions of this newsletter

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