Melody L. A. LeHew

US shopping mall attributes: an exploratory investigation of their relationship to retail productivity

In light of several successful US mall repositionings, industry experts have encouraged other less productive properties to follow their lead. This study investigates the relationship between selected mall attributes and productivity. A mail survey was sent to a random sample of mall marketing managers. Chi‐square and correlation analysis was used to identify the attributes that were significantly related to productivity. Super‐regional malls located in large, densely populated cities with high income residents were the most successful properties. The results suggest that the attributes of successful malls cannot be transferred or adapted by lower performing malls. Market strategy variables that could be duplicated were not significantly related to high productivity.

Tourist shoppers’ satisfaction with regional shopping mall experiences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess whether tourist shopper segments are an attractive market for shopping centers. This research aims to explore whether or not tourist shoppers are more satisfied than resident shoppers with their shopping experience and whether tourist shoppers have the intention to spend more than their resident shopper counterparts.Design/methodology/approach – Data for this report come from personal face‐to‐face mall intercepts of shoppers (n=578) in two new generation malls (West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America in Bloomington) and two heritage‐destination (Pier 39 in San Francisco and Forum Shops in Las Vegas) centers.Findings – Analysis concludes that although the shopping center and retail industry place increasing emphasis on leisure shopping and tourism, the results of this study suggest that the tourist shopper market may not be the most valuable customer group. Resident shoppers of tourist‐focused shopping centers are more satisfied than tourist shoppers of those...

Expanding the loyalty concept to include preference for a shopping mall

This paper is an initial investigation into the feasibility of customer loyalty towards an enclosed mall. Recently, several mall development companies have established frequent shopper programmes to enhance loyalty to their particular mall properties. The purpose of the research is to determine if a loyal mall group exists; and if so, investigate their assessment of mall characteristics to provide a better understanding of those attributes influencing a loyal response. Results support the presence of loyal mall customers, and several mall attributes influenced such loyalty. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are provided.

Sustainable Apparel Product Development: In Search of a New Dominant Social Paradigm for the Field Using Sustainable Approaches

Abstract The apparel industry is complicit in the current ecological crisis. Since the Industrial Revolution, the industrys impact has grown unceasingly and there are now social, environmental, and economic consequences that must be addressed. Though the fashion industry has begun its move toward sustainable strategies, opportunities remain. Design and product development processes represent a key inception point for a multitude of impacts. Thus, it is imperative to identify the points on which those processes may be enhanced or revolutionized by approaches used in other industries leading innovation for sustainability. In this article, the authors commence an exploration of these other industries in search of a new dominant social paradigm, a more sustainable pattern of practice, for the apparel industry as well as education. The findings indicate that costing strategies, collaboration and cooperation in the supply chain, and tools for decision making represent the primary components of the transition to a sustainable paradigm. Additionally, the authors argue that industry proclivities such as economies of scale, implacable competition, and the use of the concept of fashion must now be scrutinized and reconciled to better support quality of life.

Creativity and Sustainable Fashion Apparel Consumption The Fashion Detox

Because promoting sustainable fashion apparel consumption is a pressing contemporary problem, Generation Y participants in the Midwestern United States were challenged to a Fashion Detox, where they refrained from acquiring fashion apparel for ten weeks and blogged about the experience. Content analysis of blog entries for this exploratory study revealed expressions of creativity that were examined through the lens of the propulsion model of kinds of creative contributions. Findings revealed kinds of creative contributions stimulated by voluntary simplicity that satisfy the fashion apparel consumer’s need for novelty and change: expressions of creativity that follow a fashion-driven direction already established, called redefinition and forward incrementation, and those that take a completely different path but within the context of seeking novelty and change, or redirection. Examples of creative activities within these three kinds of creative contributions are, respectively, re-designing old clothes, shifting their focus to home décor instead of apparel, and turning away from fashion apparel altogether. Fourty-six percent of the participants left the 10-week activity feeling that their creativity had been enhanced and 54% expressed the intention to carry on the sustainable consumption lessons they learned. By cultivating expressions of creativity that lead to sustainable consumption through education and innovative business models, stakeholders may initiate a paradigm shift that fulfills the fashion apparel consumer’s need for novelty and change without sacrificing the planet s resources.

Assessment of environmental and economic impacts made by the reduced laundering of self-cleaning fabrics

Despite the belief that self-cleaning fabrics would be environmentally friendly for their reduced laundering needs, little research provides feasible evidence of it. The purpose of this study was to develop a logical assessment method for providing quantitative evidence of environmental and economic impacts made by reduced laundering efforts when selfcleaning fabrics were used in daily life. The assessment method developed included: 1) evaluation of functional effectiveness and functional lifetime of soil resistant fabrics, 2) measurement of the reduced laundering frequency and the resulting saving in electricity and water consumption, and 3) conversion of savings to CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq.) and monetary utility cost. To examine the self-cleaning ability in practical soiling situation, the treated fabrics were tested for self-cleaning ability against two types of food soils and cleaned by water-spraying using the modified AATCC test method 22-2005. The self-cleaning ability was evaluated by the subjective visual assessment and the quantitative measurement of color difference ΔE. The level of ΔE that gave the discernible color difference by the visual assessment was about 3.7, and ΔE of 3.7 was used as the criteria to determine the laundering needs. From the developed assessment method, the self-cleaning fabrics saved up to 84 % of water and electricity during lifetime laundering of 50 cycles. This study provides an objective assessment methodology that can be applied to functional textiles to determine the quantified environmental and economic impacts such as CO2 eq. and monetary cost.

Barriers and Mechanisms for the Integration of Sustainability in Textile and Apparel Education: Stories from the Front Line

Abstract There is increasing pressure in higher education to integrate sustainability holistically in the curriculum, though confusion abounds as to how to go about it. Though many advocate for the greater inclusion of sustainability themes in the textile and apparel (TA) curriculum, little is known about the current state of progress toward implementation of this goal and how those on the front line, TA educators, are experiencing and navigating challenges. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding about how those on the front lines, TA educators, are currently experiencing and responding to the call to integrate. Results indicate that current progress toward this end is substantial, though not entirely strategic or coordinated. Chief barriers to integration included a lack of tangible resources and support, perceived content limitations, and the antithetical nature of fashion as well as personal barriers and student deficiencies. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that the future holds ample promise for the acceleration of integration if supported by mechanisms such as continuing education and professional development as well as some philosophical shifts within the discipline.

Sustainable care of textile products and its environmental impact: Tumble-drying and ironing processes

Despite the growing attention on sustainable consumption of textile and apparel products, little information is available for consumers guiding their decisions for sustainable consumption and product care. The objective of this study is to develop the logical processes to assess the environmental and economic impacts made by the textile product care and to measure the CO2 eq. and utility cost during drying and ironing procedures. Particularly, the influence of quick-drying property and durable-press finish on product care and their impacts on CO2 eq. and utility cost were evaluated. Results indicated quick-drying and hydrophobic fibers consumed less electricity during tumble-drying as it contained less amount of water after spinning for dehydration. A higher spin speed was favorable for saving energy during tumble-drying, as less water remained in wet laundry after spinning. While cotton fabrics were obviously wrinkled after laundering, a polyester/cotton blend in 65/35 with durable-press finish maintained smoothness grade 4 or 5 during ten times laundering period. With a conservative criterion where a grade lower than 5 needs ironing, a polyester/cotton 65/35 with durable-press finish was judged to need ironing once in two cycles of laundering. This can save about 64 % of utility and CO2 eq. that the cotton fabric would produce in the ironing process. It is anticipated that this study provides information that is useful to consumers in their decision making for sustainable consumption.

When the Informal Is the Formal, the Implicit Is the Explicit: Holistic sustainability education at Green Mountain College.

Purpose The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted at Green Mountain College (GMC), an environmental liberal arts school in Poultney, VT; 55 students participated in focus group interviews. Findings Students articulate that the most valuable gains that manifest at GMA are a variety of new capacities for science literacy, anthropological appreciation, the triple bottom line, a sense of place, systems, empathic decision-making and reasoning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical techniques supporting self-sufficiency. Prompting these emergent outcomes was a philosophy of practice at Green Mountain College, which included place-based techniques, empowerment, personalization, community ecology and charting polarity. Many students described their seeming metamorphosis as uncomfortable, and some felt isolated from the outside paradigm. Research limitations/implications A key implication of the study’s findings is that in a holistic setting, the line between the informal and formal curriculum are significantly blurred and what is implicitly communicated through university practices and values is what most transforms the students’ explicit understanding of sustainability. Practical implications Sustainability education is far more than technique, far more than what a lone instructor can manifest in students. While the persistence of individual faculty members is important, this evidence suggests that the fertile conditions for transformation may be more fruitful when faculty members work together with a collective sense of responsibility and a well-articulated paradigm. Originality/value The advantage of the present study is that it examines the perceived impact of a focus on sustainability across curricula and school by considering the educational environment as a whole. The experiences of students from many different majors who are involved in a holistic, sustainability-infused curriculum at a university with a history of successful post-graduation job placements in the sustainability field are explored here.