APPAREL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT-2

POOJA GUPTA
(BFT/17/163)
Case Study
Technical developments in textiles are providing the opportunity for the textile products with
improved comfort and functionality. Companies are now promoting stitch-free seaming as a
value added feature in their textile products.
In this case study, stitch free technologies for functional garments and their effect on quality
is analysed. Stitch-free technology can either be in the form of welding or bonding, which
though often quoted as same, are two different concepts. Fabric welding is the process of
joining pieces of only synthetic fabrics using heat and pressure, either directly or by
application of a tape. Several methods of generating heat are employed. The most popular
methods are hot air welding, hot wedge welding and ultrasonic welding. Bonding, on the
other hand, can be performed on any fabric by placing a heat activated material (adhesive)
between them and thus can be used universally for all fabrics.
These technologies namely as “stitch free” technology is usually applied for joining the piece
of textile products, where special features and high functional utility is required, which
include water permeability, resistance to pressure, wear and tear of seams and air
permeability. This is because welding creates impermeable flat seams without the stitch holes
which makes them evenly air-tight and water proof and also minimizes the possibility of
chafing when worn next to the skin.
As far as strength is concerned, stitch-free seams can be stronger than sewn seams. In this
case study it was stated that sewing with ultrasonic welding can achieve a value of 317
Newton while sewing with superimposed seam can achieved 214 Newton as the value of the
sewing strength of sample for the same combined fabric samples.
Stitch-free products also claim to be 15% less in weight than the sewn product. The basis for
such claims is that there is less overlapping of material and no thread use in joining the seam.
This way it improves the functionality and quality of the functional textile products and
provides a consistent and permanent seal to the garment, unlike sewing.
Typical applications of stitch-free seams include outdoor gear (parachute, boat sails, skiing,
hiking, marine and fishing gear), sportswear, diving suits, preventive kits, military gear and
hazardous material suit.

Technology in Apparel Industry - (Defect Reduction)

In our textile industry, there is a distinct shift towards the use of welding and bonding
technology in functional clothing. But this technology can also prove to be of great benefit to
the general apparel industry that manufactures non-function clothing. In fact, the welding
and bonding of garments represent a great opportunity for providing good quality and
aesthetic appearance compared to traditional sewing method while also increasing the
automation of the sewing process.
Now a days Garment’s defect is one of the most important factors of the apparel
manufacturing industry because it creates a negative effect on actual productivity. These
defects effects quality, productivity, expense and also efficiency. Minimization of defects is
the key factor for quality control and productivity improvement.
According to surveys, it is stated that most of the defects in the garments occur in the sewing
department. So the sewing department is more responsible for the defects. To produce better
quality of garments the processes of sewing department must be improved.
During the traditional sewing technique, which is a highly labour-intensive process, individual
fabric panels are joined together with sewing threads and needles. However, with this
technique perforated seams and sewing defects like puckering, broken stitches, seam
slippage and skipped stitches can be seen. These defects are mainly due to improper thread
tension and improper setting of looper or hook. This result is then regarded as a disadvantage
of this traditional sewing technique.
Welding and bonding technology could present a milestone in this apparel manufacturing
field for reducing these defects because this process eliminates the need of threads, which
rules out the problems caused due to needle and thread breakage, thread tension and thread
colour changeover problems. Therefore, there will be no yarn breakages during the sewing,
no missed stitches, and seam puckering on produced apparel products. It provides a
consistent and permanent seal to the garment, unlike sewing. It is also less hazardous than
operating a sewing machine, in which the needle used can injure the operator.
This technology can reduce the defect percentage and rejection rate to a great extend which
will ultimately increase quality and productivity.
Moreover, the quality of seam in terms of strength, flexibility, elasticity, appearance, comfort
and permeability can have a significant effect on the quality and performance of the garment.
Hence, this technology provides consistent and sealed seams that are soft and smooth against
the skin, and this offers an advantage over stitched seams with bulky or abrasive
threads. Seams such as shoulder attachment, side seam in both woven and knit top wear,
side seam in legwear, all seams in active wear and lingerie, back yoke attachment in shirts can
be welded rather than sewed, as these are the areas of garments in which the user requires
comfort and stretch ability.
Conclusion
Recent studies now show that welding offers the great opportunity to increase the
automation of the seaming process. Many company have looked to these technologies to
integrate automation for better productivity and quality.
Although welding is a costlier production method compared to sewing, the overall cost may
come down as with the minimization of sewing defect, the rejection cost, rework cost and
labor cost will also go down. It also runs faster than conventional sewing machines and is
easier to use as no rethreading or changing thread colour is required, thus giving a high
production rate.
Therefore, the company can invest less money and more costs savings for the quality product.
Quality in Marketing
Few examples of Brands and their advertisements which have used quality of the product for
marketing:

 Airtel: Bharti Airtel Limited, also known as Airtel, is an Indian global telecommunications
services company based in New Delhi, India. Airtel provides GSM, 3G, 4G LTE, 4G+ mobile
services, fixed line broadband and voice services depending upon the country of
operation. It claims in its advertisement to be the fastest mobile data network in India.

 Kellogg’s Chocos: Kellogg’s Chocos is a wheat based cereal with goodness of wholegrain
and yummy chocolaty taste. One Serve (30g) of Kellogg's Chocos claims to have protein
and fibre equal to that of 1 wheat roti of 30g.

 Lifebuoy: Lifebuoy is a brand of soap marketed by Unilever. It claims to kill 99.9% of germs
and bacteria in just 10 seconds.

 Dabur Red Paste: Dabur Red Paste is a toothpaste that claims to be packed with the power
of 13 active Ayurvedic ingredients like Laung Pudina & Tomar among others that keep
dental problems away. Along with this, Dabur Red Paste claims to be clinically tested for
reduction in plaque, gingivitis & bad breath.

 Bournvita Little Champs: Bournvita Little Champs is a Chocolate Drink manufactured by

Cadbury, a subsidiary of Mondelez International. This drink is for children up to age of 2-
5. It claims to contains nutri-smart DHA (DHA, Iodine, Choline, Zinc) which is known to aid
brain development and sharpness of vision other essential vitamins and minerals to aid
important metabolic functions and aid growth of toddlers.

 Vanish stain remover: Vanish is a Dutch brand of stain removing products, the
manufacturer owned by the British company Reckitt Benckiser. It claims to have 10X more
active Oxygen compared to premium detergents that help in removing various complex
stain types while being safe and gentle on garments.

 Slice: Slice is a line of fruit-flavoured soft drinks originally manufactured by PepsiCo. It’s
advertisement claims to be the thickest mango drink.

 Fortune Oil: Fortune rice bran oil claims to have nutrients like Oryzanol that helps to keep
cholesterol in check.

 Yippee Noodles: ITC entered the instant noodles segment with the launch of Sunfeast
Yippee. It claims to be healthier than other noodles as it is made from Aashirvaad wheat
atta. The noodle block being round in shape does not need to be broken while cooking,
providing really long & slurpy noodles. A special scientific process claims that the noodles
does not lump even 30 minutes after cooking.

 Happydent white: Happydent white chewing gum is Perfetti Van Melle's offering in
Ayurvedic functional gum in the Health care category. It claims to contains active
ingredients like: Neem, Pudina extract, pudina oil, Eucalyptus oil and Meetha soda which
helps to promote oral hygiene & teeth whitening.