Sessions
Session 2
Green Customization: Mass Customization and Sustainability
Monday Oct 5 2009
11:00-12:20
Chin, Ryan (MIT Design Lab, United States)
Smithwick, Daniel (MIT Design Lab, United States)
Environmental Impacts of Utilizing Mass Customization: Energy and Material Use of Mass Customization vs. Mass Production
In 2005 Sanders Consulting published its ground-breaking research, “Why Mass Customization is the Ultimate Lean Manufacturing System.” Using the textile industry as their primary example, Sanders’ research showed that, when framed from the entire product lifecycle—from raw material production to point of purchase, the standard best practice of mass production was actually very inefficient and indeed wasteful in terms of money, time and natural resources. Beginning from this lifecycle framework provided by Sanders, this paper answers the question: What are the environmental impacts of utilizing mass customization compared to the impacts of utilizing mass production?
Beutin, Nikolas (Germany)
Mekwinski, Sven (Germany)
Converging Cross-Industry Innovation Management - Example Green Technology
Green technology with its green products and services is constantly and rapidly changing the rules of the game in presumably „old industries“ creating sometimes enormous new markets. Driven by consumer demand, new green laws, new environmental standards, internal cost pressure, large governmental subsidies and high and further rising energy prices, companies face a totally new situation and need to enter new markets and businesses. Moreover, industries more and more converge within the “Green Technology”. To be successful in this new and ever more komplex environment, companies have to change their innovation and product development strategies, processes and methods. Furthermore, cooperations and internal changes are inevitable. We will show the challenges and possible solutions in the Automotive, Building and Glass Industry.
Badurdeen, Fazleena (University of Kentucky, United States)
Liyanage, Jayantha P. (University of Stavangar, Norway)
Gupta, Sonal (University of Kentucky, United States)
Product Lifecycle-based Approach to Mass Customization for Sustainable Manufacturing
Mass customization (MC) has become increasingly popular as a business strategy over the past few years, particularly due to changing customer expectations. In the mean time, from a much broader perspective, the problems and limits of current development practices, in terms of environmental degradation and exhaustion of natural resources, have begun to surface. Thus, over the last 20 years, there’s been an increasingly urgent search for workable approaches to sustainable development with an emphasis on economic prosperity, environmental protection and societal well-being. While MC has emerged as a business solution to meet diverse customer requirements, sustainability in the design, manufacturing, use and post-use handling of these MC offerings is an issue companies must now give serious thought to. Therefore, it is also important that mass customizers adopt a more holistic and product lifecycle-oriented approach that leads to closed-loop SC practices rather than focus on one, or a few, discrete stages of the life-cycle individually. This paper is aimed at appraising the benefits and challenges to MC from a sustainability perspective and at offering insights for further research.
Badurdeen, Liyanage, Gupta -paper pdf
Black, Sandy (University of the Arts London, United Kingdom)
Eckert, Claudia (Dept DDEM, Open University, United Kingdom)
Watkins, Penelope (London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom)
Delamore, Philip (London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom)
Geesin, Frances (London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom)
Harkin, Steven (Steven Harkin Designs, United Kingdom)
Considerate Design for Personalised Fashion: towards sustainable production
The inbuilt obsolescence of the fashion system and its ever faster cycles creates large volumes of waste, as clothing is discarded long before its useful life is over, with 60% of what is thrown away recoverable. The Size UK survey of 2001-2 found that the average female was size 16, yet the fashion clothing choices available do not meet the needs of a wide sector of the market. The fact that many items of clothing do not fit well contributes to the landfill problem. Considerate Design for Personalised Fashion Products seeks to develop personalised fashion and accessories to meet consumer needs for individual fit and comfort. The intention is, through personalisation, to increase consumer engagement and use of garments, whilst providing support for designers in the fashion industry by developing a sustainable design methodology for designers and a tool that enables them to access the relative environmental impact of design options. The project draws on three practice-led sub-projects situated at different sectors of the market: the mass market through ‘Knit to Fit’, radical innovation in the fashion industry through rapid prototyping techniques and the bespoke market through the work of innovative designer makers.