Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Human Ecology: Fashion and Retail Studies

This study delves into the global market dynamics of sustainable home textiles, particularly analyzing how environmental concerns, online reviews, and pricing influence Generation Z's purchasing decisions. As global demand for eco-friendly products increases post-COVID pandemic, understanding these factors is crucial for engaging the growing market of young, environmentally-conscious consumers. Conducted through a survey targeting individuals aged 18-27, the study assesses how these key factors shape their buying behaviors. The analysis confirms that environmental awareness strongly correlates with this demographic's motivation to purchase sustainable textiles. Additionally, online reviews emerge as a crucial determinant in shaping purchasing decisions, indicating the importance of digital feedback in the consumer journey. Furthermore, the study highlights that price sensitivity plays a significant role in influencing Generation Z's choices, pointing to a balance between cost and sustainability as a pivotal aspect of their purchasing criteria. These findings suggest that businesses in the home textile industry should prioritize clear environmental communications, manage online reputations carefully, and consider pricing strategies to engage Generation Z consumers effectively.

Master of Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, EMC - Mechanical Engineering

Robots that are heavy enough to lift objects in coastal environments often have problems sinking into the terrain. My proposed solution is 3D printing fabric attachments onto the feet of a crab-like robot. The fabric is embedded between the layers of the 3D print. Similar techniques have been described in artistic and hobbyist applications, however they have not been documented in load-bearing robotics parts, to my knowledge. The resulting attachments improved the walking speed of the robot in sand deeper than the dactyl depth by limiting the penetration of the dactyls into the sand. Specifically, by limiting dactyl penetration to 5.6cm, the robot's forward and sideways gaits are four to nine times faster. These results begin to show the utility of fabric basket dactyls, and future work can highlight the utility of similar passive ankles for climbing slopes.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2024, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

Today's fashion industry is contributing to catastrophic negative impacts on the planet through industrial and post-consumer textile waste and consumes more than 98 million tons of non-renewable resources every year (Gazzola, 2020). In the current conventional take-make-waste model, only about 13.6% of fashion industrial waste is recycled or reused (Rauturier, 2022). One method to prevent downcycling, incineration, and disposal of textile waste is fashion upcycling. One of the reasons impeding the implementation of upcycling into the existing supply chain is the lack of practice-based research on fashion upcycling and zero-waste design and production techniques that can be used in an industrial setting. This reflective practice thesis examines a creative problem-solving approach to explore an alternate possibility of using pre-owned garments and pre-consumer textile waste to prevent them from going to the landfill and limit the use of virgin materials. This study seeks to address this area of sustainable production through the development of puffer and quilted garment design and production processes that combine circular, zero-waste, and upcycling techniques. To test the appropriateness of the proposed methodology for wider-scale production, garment prototypes are created to ascertain possible problem areas that need to be addressed. To create the prototypes, discounted and less-desirable thrifted garments, as well as deadstock fabrics, are utilized to enhance their aesthetic and retail value. An emphasis is placed on blended materials that are hard to recycle and are most often contributors to landfills.

MFA, Kent State University, 2023, College of the Arts / School of Art

This thesis provides context for a body of textile works. The textiles explore themes of memory and emotional landscape, connections between members of an ecosystem and the ways in which communication, and attempts to both communicate and decipher ourselves and each other is based on a lichen-like mutuality. Harnessing anthropologist Tim Ingold's concept of 'the textility of making' and philosopher and eco-feminist Donna Haraway's concept of 'making-with' or 'sympoesis', this thesis explores concepts which become tangible and embodied through the weaving process.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

This research focuses on the revival of mending clothing to benefit various facets of the fashion industry, including individuals, community and non-profits, and brands and corporations. Multiple studies have highlighted the importance of the use phase of a garment's life cycle in relation to sustainability. The longer a garment is worn and cared for, the less impact it has on the environment. One effective method of extending a garment's use phase is mending clothing as it becomes damaged. A popular household activity throughout Western history, mending has faded from popular culture in recent decades, partially due to the emergence of fast fashion. However, due to growing concern for sustainability, renewed interest in DIY fashion and in mending represents an opportunity to promote the latter as a sustainable solution for consumers and for the fashion industry. This study explores this opportunity and focuses on how mending might be used to encourage sustainable practices by consumers, communities, and brands. Data was gathered using three separate methods, including: 1) an online survey; 2) virtual mending workshop with a pre-test and post-test analysis of participant perceived mending skills and mood; and 3) fashion industry expert interviews. This study confirmed a number of persistent barriers to mending, relating to skills, perceptions of what clothing was worth mending, and perceptions of the mending activity itself. Perceptions of sustainability and gender identity also influenced survey participant's decisions to mend. Based on pre-test and post-test analysis, the mending workshop was highly effective in addressing some of those barriers, including improving participant perceived skills, confidence, and mood. Expert interviews highlighted practical implications to overcome potential barriers and promote mending as an accessible way to practice sustainability at the individual, community, and industry level.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

Fashion renting, a form of collaborative consumption, is an emerging sustainable business model that extends the product life cycle and minimizes waste garments. Fashion renting has been the topic of interest for multiple studies, and as a result, the current fashion discipline possesses a substantial understanding of the factors that encourage consumers to engage in fashion renting. A limitation, however, is that relatively little attention has been placed on consumers who do not engage in fashion renting. This is an important gap in research especially considering the fact that understanding non-users of products or services often lead to valuable and distinct implications. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to investigate both the user and non-user groups of fashion renting services to obtain a better understanding of the phenomenon. Specifically, two separate focus group interviews for users and non-users are conducted. The interview results are then converted into a survey questionnaire and distributed via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Factor Analysis and MANOVA are conducted to explore whether different sets of factors drive consumers' decision to use or not use fashion renting services. The findings of this study provide meaningful results for fashion researchers as well as practitioners.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

Lack of diversity, inclusion and representation in the fashion industry is an ongoing issue in the 21st century. More specifically, certain fashion magazines have become known for failing to incorporate Black people in their editorial content. The purpose of this study is to highlight the lack of Black people featured on the cover of Esquire Magazine from 2010 to 2020. This study also serves to investigate the variable of having Black leadership at the magazine correlates with an increased number of Black cover stars featured. The methodology used to collect the data is content analysis. This research seeks to uncover any emerging themes or correlations with regard to the inclusion of Black people in Esquire's editorial content. Stakeholder implications of this study include greater representation of Black people on the cover of the magazine and the incorporation of more diverse and inclusive content within mainstream fashion media. Throughout the duration of this research study, there were a number of trends, common themes and gaps that were identified. It became evident that there is an underrepresentation of Black men featured on the cover of Esquire in recent years, as well as a lack of Black editorial leadership at the publication.

MFA, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Art

This body of work stems from my interest in drag culture, gender, and how we visually present ourselves to others. Based on vintage silk screens depicting drag queens and gay bars from the 1970's Cleveland this work is created to celebrate pioneering drag queens as well as preserve a forgotten history. To do this, the gallery space is transformed to reflect the atmosphere of one of the clubs where individuals convened to recognize beauty, glamour, and an individual's sense of femininity. Soft sculptures reminiscent of elaborate drag gowns are illuminated to emit a soft glow. These symbolic sculptures shed light on photographic images of prominent drag queens digitally printed on layers of silk organza.

MFA, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Art

This series of weavings creates a sensory experience that heightens an awareness of tactility created by phenomenological movements of wave patterns. These works are influenced by my interest in swimming. Dynamic actions such as floating, diving, splashing, bending, and submerging provide inspiration for the development of the undulating structural transformation of the weave patterns. These rhythms vibrate with motion, color, and are meant to provide an immersive experience through their optical physicality. Similar to the action of swimming, directional forces and elasticity are at play, intersect and break up with moments of activity and rest.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

Fashion businesses today are progressively challenged by consumers to provide value beyond the latest design trends. With a multitude of brand choices available to them, consumers seek a narrative that makes them feel satisfied about their purchase. Consumers are searching for brands that help them live out their own social purpose through purchases that share aligning values of sustainability. The three overarching dimensions of sustainability are social, environmental and economic viability. However, without a leading purpose-driven narrative within a business, there is sometimes an inconsistency in aligning all three of these dimensions of sustainability. Small businesses are often the most flexible and innovative. They tend to come up with creative solutions to problems via novel business products, services, and practices. This thesis aims to investigate the strategies that small businesses use to balance the tensions in achieving the three types of sustainability goals. Data was collected through a critical literature review followed by a website content analysis. This data allows common attributes of these narrative-driven businesses to be determined within the quadruple bottom line theory. Of particular interest are “American Made” companies which address environmental concerns with practices such as up-cycling or recycling, and social concerns such as veterans' health and well-being. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) businesses analyzed, which have incorporated purpose-driven strategies, are Anne Cate, Sword and Plough, Alabama Chanin, Zero Waste Daniel, and United by Blue. These businesses were selected because they are United States-based fashion companies that incorporate practices that drive sustainability in their business model. From this information, a list of common attributes, best practices and tools was determined from the companies reviewed. The outcome produced a suggested business model for narrative-driven small businesses.

MA, Kent State University, 2020, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

The fashion industry is responsible for four percent of the world's waste which has led to several staggering problems including overflowing landfills and microplastics from fiber production penetrating waterways. The purpose of this research was to compare the attitudes of fashion retail merchandising professionals and their packaging and merchandising waste. By understanding these attitudes and the waste created in the entire retail supply chain, it provides businesses with possible solutions for addressing sustainability in their supply chain. This study utilized an explanatory sequential design method to examine behaviors, attitudes, and current practices of individuals working in the fashion industry and of retail consumers. Data was first collected through one-on-one qualitative interviews with individuals who have worked in their position in the fashion industry for more than a year. The data was analyzed which suggested themes and subsequent questions for a quantitative survey of fashion consumers and a larger number of retail professionals. The study revealed that consumers and retail workers are overwhelmed by the amount of waste created in the retail sector and have a strong desire to implement change. Furthermore, there is a need to integrate communication between corporate leadership and retail employees allowing them to voice their opinions and suggest solutions. Addressing these issues has revealed possible best practices for retailers to implement policies for properly disposing of retail and merchandising waste and investigate ways to reduce packaging from their products. The findings of this study extend the knowledge of sustainability in the fashion industry and how companies can implement them into their business model.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (Education)

Textiles and apparel products create a significant amount of pollution and environmental degradation throughout their long product life cycle. In response to the increasing pressure from various stakeholders, the apparel businesses have gradually implemented environmental practices throughout the supply chain. The purpose of this study was to investigate consumers' assessment of the environmental practices in the apparel industry. Based on the schema theory and the literature in consumer environmental behaviors, the way consumers evaluate and categorize the environmental practices in their mental map, and the impacts of individual factors on their evaluations were examined. The data were collected from the general American population using an online survey. A total of 272 completed responses collected from the MTurk were analyzed. The data revealed that consumers categorize the environmental practices into three broad themes: (a) resource optimization, (b) post purchase care information, and (c) conservation. Regardless of the production stages, consumers seem to process environmental practices according to a resource usage orientation. It was also found that egoistic value and perceived consumer effectiveness were significantly influential across all three practice categories. On the other hand, altruistic value was significantly related to the resource optimization and the conservation categories. Perceived environmental risk was found influencing the respondents' evaluation of the resource optimization practice only. This study is the first study that evaluated consumers' perceived impacts of the industrial environmental practices associated with apparel production and discovered the way consumers categorize the practices. Along with the findings related to the influential individual factors, the results of this study produced implications for the marketers to formulate efficient and effective strategies to communicate their environmental practices with consumers (open full item for complete abstract)

MFIS, Kent State University, 2020, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

Afrofuturism is a cultural and aesthetic movement within the African Diaspora that draws on the present and historical experiences of Black people and reimagines a future filtered through a Black cultural lens. There has been a growing number of fashion creatives and enthusiasts throughout the African Diaspora who are adopting this aesthetic in order to celebrate Black culture and identity. However, the role of Africa in Afrofuturism continues to be debated as many believe the term to be inherently centered on Black American experiences and cultures and not necessarily on the African experience. The purpose of this research is to explore the connection between Afrofuturism, fashion, and cultural identity in the African Diaspora. A qualitative approach using interviews and an arts-based creative online collage exercise was used to uncover the role and signification of cultural identity in the Afrofuturistic expressions of West Africans in Africa, West Africans living in America (Diasporic Africans) and African Americans. Because fashion has been likened to a form of symbolic language, this study also aims to uncover the “codes” involved in each group's communication of their cultural identities. Through the data gathered, a 3- look capsule collection was created to represent a visual summary of the views of each group on Afrofuturistic fashion expressions.

MFA, Kent State University, 2020, College of the Arts / School of Art

The Sacred Transfigured are the cumulative results of researching textile processes as sacred ritual resulting in artifacts that can be engaged in a participatory manner by the viewer. Questions I aim to resolve through the artworks presented are: Why are textiles special? How can material like wool and linen be transfigured into precious artifacts? What about this construction process is sacred? What is the role of the artist in that process? These questions are explored through weaving, felting and stitching specifically to examine the unique and magic qualities of textiles that can serve as tools of communication between artist and viewer. The artifacts presented are both precious objects and theatrical garments serving to heighten the senses of the viewer and help construct a certain aura around the wearer.

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2020, Family and Consumer Sciences-Child and Family Development

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, signature quilts were extremely popular. Young girls would use them as remembrance quilts, almost like an autograph book, whereas churches would use the signature quilt as a fundraising tool to raise money for projects such as new church buildings, missionary work, or Sunday school classes. The idea of using quilts for fundraising quickly caught on with other civic organizations. Individuals would donate money in exchange for having their names inked or embroidered on the quilt in the form of a signature. Often, the completed quilt was raffled off with the proceeds going towards the church or other worthy causes. One such signature quilt is in collection of The Summit County Historical Society in Akron, Ohio. This 1901 red and white quilt has 411 names in addition to businesses, cities, and occupations being embroidered on the quilt. A biblical verse and a product advertisement are also featured on two of the blocks. This quilt was made by the Ladies Cemetery Association to raise funds for the Maple Lawn Cemetery located in Darrowville, (now Stow) Ohio. Authentic documentation was found to support the quilt process and the causes of the group. This thesis investigates the participants and the quilts' intended purpose by using E. McClung Fleming's artifact study model. I applied this model, to identify, evaluate, interpret, and examine the cultural significance of the quilt and its maker(s).

MFIS, Kent State University, 2019, College of the Arts / School of Art

The purpose of the study was to discover whether banana fiber-based textiles are viable in the fashion industry. To understand banana fiber's viability, an exploratory research study was completed through an interview with a fabric retailer, surveys with fashion industry professionals, and generative focus groups with consumers. In the generative focus group, consumers expressed their impression and envisioned application of banana fiber fabric through a visual model. The Interview revealed three themes: Community, Positives for Banana Fiber Viability, and Risks for Banana Fiber Viability. The surveys and focus groups revealed a wide range of applications possible for banana fiber such as sleepwear, casual women's wear, bridal wear, and home decor applications. Banana fiber does have potential in the fashion industry as a sustainable fiber, however, some issues need to be overcome in the material, production process, cost, and care. The three-part qualitative approach in this study can be used as a framework to analyze other new materials for the fashion industry during the `fuzzy front end' of design.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2019, Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (Education)

Apparel manufacturing has been one of the most globalized business sectors. Facing free competitions after the expulsion of the decades-long quota system in 2005, it became imperative for apparel exporters in developing countries to implement efficient supply chain management (SCM) to establish competitive advantages. In this study, 4 dimensions of SCM practices applicable to the apparel sector (i.e., strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, information sharing, and process integration) were identified and operationalized, and their relationships with key areas of competitive advantage (i.e., cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility) were empirically tested. Data were collected from apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh via an online survey. A total of 117 responses from the management level respondents were analyzed. Findings included that (a) strategic supplier partnership and process integration were moderately related to quality competitive advantage, (b) information sharing was significantly related to delivery competitive advantage, and (c) information sharing was significantly related to flexibility competitive advantage. Valuable suggestions for local and international industry leaders and policymakers are provided from the results. As the first attempt to define the dimensions of SCM practices in the apparel industry and investigate their relationships with competitive advantage, this study shapes the pathway for future research. 

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Geology

The presence of microplastic fibers (MPFs) among freshwater systems is an increasing concern in the context of global freshwater potability due to their persistence, potential toxicity, and ubiquity among the natural environment. These MPFs are described as being filamentous microplastic particles (MPPs) that are released into the natural environment through byproducts of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or effluent discharged from combined sewer overflow (CSO) events. The primary purpose of this study is to develop a reproducible method of extracting, quantifying, and chemically characterizing MPFs among wastewater, CSO, and sludge cake samples. The influent, effluent, and sludge cake samples from three different WWTPs that discharge into Lake Erie were analyzed for the presence of MPFs. Additionally, CSO outfalls (located in Bowling Green and Cleveland, OH) were analyzed for the presence of MPFs during CSO events. Laboratory processing of a given sample involved density separation within a sediment-microplastic isolation unit (SMIU), organic matter digestion of the SMIU's supernatant, vacuum filtration of the digested solution, extraction of MPFs from the vacuum filter onto microscope slides and capturing images of MPFs on microscope slides using a polarized light microscope (PLM). MPFs among images were counted using an ImageJ macro designed to count asbestos fibers. An adjusted macro was used to identify MPPs among images. MPFs among all effluent samples were counted both manually and with ImageJ. Raman spectra of MPFs and standard plastic materials were obtained via Raman spectroscopy. Using the Spectral ID software, spectra of the analyzed MPFs were matched to spectra of the analyzed standard plastic materials within a specified degree of certainty. Comparing ImageJ's counts to manual counts of MPFs among effluent samples revealed a linear relationship between the two groups (r-squared equals 0.6969). The comparison of MPFs in effluent samples to MPFs in in (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2019, English (Arts and Sciences)

This creative dissertation features a book-length work of Creative Nonfiction forwarded by a critical introduction on the relationship between form and content in examples of visual nonfiction writing. The visual essay is a genre of nonfiction that uses elements of design and active whitespace to drive storytelling and develop visual arguments across a text. “Beasts of the Interior” is a collection of visual essays considering the deterioration of homes and landscapes, and the ways these processes mirror the fissures between people living therein. The book combines personal, journalistic, and critical approaches to consider how histories are made by certain places, and what happens to each history when a place begins to shift. This is a project obsessed with structure, form, restraint, and the relationship between a page's form and its content. The book investigates the ways stories might behave more like objects do—like a cave system or a quilt pattern, a riverbed or a blueprint. Each chapter uses a borrowed structure to guide the reader between the walls of a hundred-year-old home, down a bat-infested dry riverbed, or across a farm run by an eco- cult. In the final chapter, this book's coda, this project turns back on itself and considers formlessness instead.

BFA, Kent State University, 2018, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

The research and visual experimentations included in Female Friendship: Strength Found Through Support explore the evolving nature of female friendships and the impact that friendships have on a female's life––in the form of an seven look fashion collection. The most intimate and tenuous relationships in a woman's life are typically with her female friends. With the integration of the Internet and social media into twenty-first century human interactions and friendships, there is a considerable amount of research to uncover in the nature of relationships. The following research touches upon the psychology in female friendships, and what has changed in the dynamics of friendship in the last several centuries. After researching visual iterations of female friendships, the continuous repeated image of various girls and women braiding each other's hair, throughout many cultures, was interpreted in a hand-sewn smocking technique throughout the collection to mimic a braid. A girlish childhood symbol of friendship, the “friendship bracelet”, is researched and included in a textile exploration in the form of hand drawn/designed laser cut acrylic pieces and hand woven bracelet ties that create a colorful, tactile textile relating friendship to memory and childhood. The conclusive visual research within the collection is illustrated in a literal, visual compilation of a fabric print composed of hand-written personal experiences and accounts from sixteen women that I surveyed, entailing varying excerpts of the many experiences with the female friendships in their lives, printed on different fabrics and included in many different pieces of the collection.