This paper examines the process of achieving environmental sustainability through recycling of textile wastes. The recycling of textile waste can serve as a mean of providing solutions to many financial and environmental problems such as high cost of waste disposal and diminution of natural resources. The benefits and problems of this exercise are also highlighted. There are benefits to all three aspects that define sustainability: economical, social and environmental but there are also negative aspects too. The conclusion drawn is that the recycling of waste is of huge benefits especially in solving the numerous environmental problems and boosting the nation's economy. To quantify potential ecological benefits and economical effects of textiles waste recycling, the paper proposes modeling framework which makes trade off between costs of reverse network for textiles waste establishing and operating, and its effects on the virgin materials consumption, land use reduction, employment increase, and resold wearable textiles earnings.

The paper aims to open a new field of research applicable to small and medium enterprises in the clothing industry, namely, the focus on new product design by increasing the efficiency of fabric use and recycling and a value chain perspective that concentrates on downstream in the chain. The main objective of this paper is to present how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the clothing industry can achieve a competitive advantage by using a sustainable approach. This study provides useful solutions for understanding the product development processes for fashion to rethink, reuse or upcycle the waste in the production stage. We propose a better connection between different links of the value chain: design, production, marketing to create fashion items so when possible, this waste to be used to make new products and highlights the advantages of implementing this solution. Sustainable production can be a way of gaining a competitive advantage. This strategy can be successful by integrating the vertical value chain by strengthening the creative department, fashion design, and involvement in marketing and sales. In the clothing industry, the strategy of integrating design and retail can lead to a more flexible design process and, therefore, to an increased product performance.

The textile and fashion industry is on the brink of a major disruption, and blockchain technology (BT) presents a promising solution that could transform the industry by facilitating supply chain transparency, traceability, and sustainability. This article explores the potential of BT in the textile and fashion industry, with a focus on its current applications and potential impact. Using case studies and analyzing all announced blockchain projects from January 2017 to January 2023, we examine the diversity of blockchain applications across different aspects of the textile and fashion industry, including smart contracts and payment processing, supply chain tracking, sustainability applications, and customer engagement. The findings suggest an increasing number of companies are adopting BT, and that BT has the potential to revolutionize the T and F industry by creating a more transparent and efficient supply chain, reducing fraud and counterfeiting, and increasing customer confidence in products. We also identified the challenges and difficulties that may arise during the implementation of BT. This article contributes to the literature on BT in the textile and fashion industry, providing critical insights into its potential impact.

The issue of replacing natural leather with leather substitutes is increasingly common in the leather goods industry. In this paper, it was addressed the issue of ensuring the physiological and comfort parameters when wearing leather substitute shoes. The aim of the paper is to analyze how the sanogenetic indicators influence the hygienic properties of footwear products starting from the porosity of the materials subjected to experimental determinations. Poromeric skin substitutes will be used, which allow the passage of water vapor and air. Both types of leather substitutes for shoe uppers and some types of textile materials for linings will be subjected to laboratory analysis, using the pycnometric method. In conclusion, the values obtained for porosity fall between 47 and 58%, limits also provided by the specialized literature. It is noted that the porosity values of leather substitutes are close to those of chrome-tanned leather, so as a result, the value of leather substitutes use will increase (they have sanogenetic properties similar to natural leather). Currently, leather substitutes are used more and more in the manufacture of footwear products, because they maintain a thermal transfer balance between the foot and the surrounding environment, favoring the elimination of moisture produced by the foot when wearing the footwear in the outdoor environment.

This paper presents an analysis of Balkans countries' relative competitiveness of the clothing industry