PurposeMass customization (MC) is one of the changes for the US apparel industry that will provide a competitive advantage and offer products needed by consumers. However, as the points of customization and their extent of customization characterize business models including the process strategies to achieve a successful MC strategy, it is imperative to define the points of customization. The purpose of this research is to investigate and introduce the critical points of customization and their extent for apparel.Design/methodology/approachAn apparel industry survey together with case studies was used to collect information to test and support the hypothesis developed through the comprehensive literature review.FindingsFive critical points of apparel customization are defined. These points and their extents of customization are compared, analyzed and validated. It is suggested that the success and the capability of apparel MC will depend on how effectively a company can combine the defined points of customization and their extent of customization in pre‐production, production and post‐production of the apparel product.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings of points of customization is for an apparel product. However, the concepts may be applied to products in other industries.Practical implicationsThe post‐production customization point using current technologies is a popular practice for mass customization. However, to achieve a higher level or extent of customization such as design point of customization, it is essential to use advanced product development, manufacturing and processing technologies.Originality/valueThe points of apparel customization and their extent of customization have not been studied before for the apparel MC domain. These points and extent of customization provide new insights into the mass customized apparel manufacturing and apparel MC business models.

In this paper, we evaluated in depth how the spectrophotometric colour measurement of an object will respond to surface temperature change. The colorimetric variations of eight coloured ceramic tiles against temperature changes were studied. Colorimetric data measured at specific temperature were compared with data measured at about 20 °C. For each coloured ceramic tile, reflectance curves and colorimetric differences resulting from temperature differences were examined to demonstrate the exact dependency of colorimetric properties across the temperature range studied. Experimental data showed that peaks and slopes on a reflectance curve are the major impact resulting from temperature variation. Colours with lower lightness and lower chroma showed smaller colorimetric changes with change in temperature, while colour with higher lightness and chroma exhibited a distinct thermochromism and linearity changes across the temperature range. A conspicuous correlation potential between surface temperature and CIE colorimetric coordinates was observed.

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The main focus of this work was to elucidate the further question of whether the color change correlated linearly with the surface temperature alteration or not. We selected and grouped the colored samples, which were in the form of textile, ceramic, plastic, paint, and ink. Those samples were first measured by IR Thermometer to record exact surface temperature, followed by an immediate color measurement using a spectrophotometer. The color variations of these samples were recorded from about 20°C to 60°C. The trend of CIELAB color coordinates was plotted against surface temperature. The dependency between each CIE colorimetric coordinate and the object's surface temperature was statistically evaluated using Pearson's r, R value, and R‐square analysis. A very strong correlation was observed for ceramic, paint, and ink samples tested, while the textile and plastic sample also exhibited a strong trend. The results added new information about the potential correlation between colorimetric data and temperature. Implications for the future research are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated human body measurement extraction system using simple inexpensive equipment with minimum requirement of human assistance. This research further leads to the comparison of extracted measurements to established methods to analyze the error. The extracted measurements can be used to assist the production of custom-fit apparel. This is an effort to reduce the cost of expensive 3-D body scanners and to make the system available to the user at home. Design/methodology/approach A single camera body measurement system is proposed, implemented, and pilot tested. This system involves a personal computer and a webcam operating within a space of controlled lighting. The system will take two images of the user, extract body silhouettes, and perform measurement extraction. The camera is automatically calibrated using the software each time of scanning considering the scanning space. The user will select a front view and a side view among the images captured, and specify the height. In this pilot study, 31 subjects were recruited and the accuracy of 8 human body measurements were compared with the manual measurements and measurements extracted from a commercial 3-D body scanner. Findings The system achieved reasonable measurement performance within 10 percent accuracy for seven out of the eight measurements, while four out of eight parameters obtained a performance similar to the commercial scanner. It is proved that human body measurement extraction can be done using inexpensive equipment to obtain reasonable results. Originality/value This study is aimed at developing a proof-of-concept for inexpensive body scanning system, with an effort to benchmark measurement accuracy, available to an average user providing the ability to acquire self-body measurements to be used to purchase custom-fit apparel. This system can potentially boost the customization of apparel and revolutionize online shopping of custom-fit apparel.