Business Commons^™

The Phygital Design Process: Using Emerging Technologies To Create A Phygital Fashion Brand Rooted In Nostalgia, Madeline M. Mcdaniel

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This Master's Project is a comprehensive exploration of the intersection of digital fashion design, nostalgia, and sustainable practices. Its primary objective is to create 'project CYBERBAE,' a phygital fashion collection that draws inspiration from early 2000s video game characters, trends, and aesthetics. The project utilizes advanced digital tools like Clo3D to demonstrate a comprehensive digital fashion design process that emphasizes inclusivity and sustainability. It also pioneers the development of a 3D virtual world, providing users with an immersive environment to interact with and experience digital fashion. This virtual space serves as a platform for a community of fashion, technology, and …

Clueless: Revolutionizing Sustainable Fashion And Combating Overconsumption, Tanya Ravichandran

Graphic Communication

“Clueless” revolutionizes sustainable fashion by combating wardrobe overconsumption and the industry’s carbon footprint, using AI to suggest personalized outfits from existing wardrobes tailored to weather and wear history. It enhances user engagement through features like outfit ‘shuffle’ and provides insights into wardrobe utilization and carbon impact.

It’s more than an app; it’s a step towards a greener wardrobe and a healthier planet.

Women In Sustainable Leadership: A Case Study On The Perspectives, Opportunities, And Challenges Of Biologist And Conservationist Estrela Matilde, Ella Lyons

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite the relatively small population of 8,000 occupants and the minimal international recognition of the Island of Príncipe, located off of the Gulf of Guinea on the Western Coast of Central Africa, the region has increasingly become a leading example of sustainable practices to be taken on a global scale in the near future to combat our current climate crisis. This case study explores the sustainable practices that Príncipe has learned to embrace under the leadership of Portuguese conservation biologist and project manager for the NGO Fundação Príncipe, Estrela Matilde. Estrela integrates social, cultural, and environmental conservation to align with …

A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research poster is based on a working research paper which moves beyond the traditional scope of repair and examines the Right to Repair movement from a smaller, more personal lens by detailing the 6 categorical impediments as dubbed by Dr. Alissa Centivany (design, law, economic/business strategy, material asymmetry, informational asymmetry, and social impediments) have continuously inhibited repair and affected repair practices, which has consequently had larger implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) on ourselves, our objects, and our world. The poster builds upon my research from last year (see "The Right to Repair: (Re)building a better future"), this time pulling …

From Fast Fashion To Sustainable Slow Fashion, Isabel Agatha Millward-Pena

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to express a need for sustainability within the fast fashion industry, in the form of cultural movement that acts as alternative to the current means of production, consumption, and philosophies. Sustainability within current popular discourses is often human-centered and lacking authenticity, thus I aim to highlight an alternative that is opposite of that. In doing such, I bring to light the negative effects of the industry through a case study on the fast fashion company SHEIN, who claim to be making sustainable efforts. I analyzed SHEIN’s 2021 Sustainability and Social Impact Report (SSIR), focusing …

Socio-Cultural And Economic Impacts Of Religious Festivals On Sustainable Local Community Livelihoods In Kerala: The Case Of Palakkad, Dr. Bindu V T Nair, Aiswarya Babu N

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Festivals depict the heritage, culture, and traditions of a particular region. They create a state of exhilaration and enthusiasm. Kerala is a state in southwest India with its own distinct culture and traditions. The state is also known for its religious pluralism. This study attempts to understand the perceived impact of religious festivals on the local community livelihoods in Palakkad, a district in central Kerala. Twelve temples in which religious festivals are held annually, with attendance in the range of thousands, were selected. The selected temples are famous for hosting specific religious festivals which attract a large number of visitors, …

Regenerative Tourism Model: Challenges Of Adapting Concepts From Natural Science To Tourism Industry, Asif Hussain, Marie Haley

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The study proposes a regenerative tourism model. The application of the natural science ideas of regeneration needs to be clarified before the tourism industry can adopt a regenerative tourism model. Without such clarification, there is a high risk of ‘green washing’ and inappropriate adaption of a regenerative model. The borrowing of natural science to industry and its application in social sciences confuse the essence of the true concept of regeneration. In a regenerative agriculture context restoring a holistic system that mimics nature and includes social and economic spheres contributes to improving the whole system. When a social system aims to …

The Impact Of A Sustainable Muslim Model On Community Development With Special Reference To Religious Tourism, Tariq H. M. Elhadary

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper uses the descriptive qualitative approach to answer questions about how a Sustainable Muslim Model (SMM) could work as a new approach to developing and sustaining communities. This study embraces the textual analysis method to examine the prevailing published research in the context of sustainability and community development. A number of scholars have approved this textual analysis method as a tool to study religious texts.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview and discuss the status, issues and challenge of community development in tourism. As religious tourism is gaining more ground over time, the need to …

Beyond Sustainable: An Analysis Of The Visual Rhetoric Behind The Branding Of Christy Dawn, Megan Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research project offers insight into the visual rhetorical of design decisions made in the marketing materials of Christy Dawn, a sustainable fashion brand. The primary goal of this research is to identify several motivators, based on prior studies, for the consumption of sustainable fashion and analyze the existing marketing visuals of Christy Dawn’s brand, specifically in how they appeal to these motivators, thus also communicating their sustainable rhetoric to consumers in the process. This project defines these motivators in detail and addresses them in relation to particular elements of design in Christy Dawn’s materials, such as images, color, and …

Effective Decision-Making Strategies That Support Long-Term Sustainability In Nondenominational Churches, Andre Paul Davis Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective financial decision-making has frequently led to nondenominational church failures and contributes to 4,000 to 8,000 churches closing each year in North America. Grounded in stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective financial decision-making strategies in nondenominational churches that support long term sustainability. Participants were 10 church leaders who successfully used financial decision-making strategies to support long-term sustainability in Central North Carolina was used for this study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews and internal church documents relating to church leadership's financial decision-making and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: budgeting …

Factory To Table: A Philosophic Analysis Of The Justice Or Lack Thereof Of Agricultural Markets, Will Carter

CMC Senior Theses

How food is produced has dramatic consequences on how we live, our world’s justice, and the future of our planet. In a world increasingly driven by neoliberalism, agricultural markets have been incentivized to industrialize, globalize, and consolidate. This has resulted in the global dominance of a new type of agriculture, industrial agriculture, driven by the market logic of lowering costs and raising profits. Industrial agriculture has undoubtedly generated the profound benefit of cheaper, more plentiful food in much of the world. These favorable innovations lead many scholars to argue that free markets produce the most just and efficient arrangements for …

Consumer Response To Green Brands Vs. Traditional Brands On Digital Platforms: An Analysis Through A Series Of Case Studies, Madison Busick

Honors Scholar Theses

In the age of environmental crisis, consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their decisions. Accordingly, many companies seek to provide more eco-friendly and sustainable products while building their brand around these values. Consumers also are increasingly using and engaging on social media and other digital platforms. But just how well do these "green" brands do in the digital space? This study aims to compare differences between brands that embody environmentalist values and traditional brands with a variety of case studies across several consumer goods segments including clothing, cosmetics, and technology. The data is collected from a variety …

Faith-Based Activities And Tourism: Exploiting The Possibilities For Religious Tourism Development In Anaocha Local Government Area, Nigeria, Emeka Okonkwo, Afamefuna Eyisi, Daniel Okoye

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Over the years, people have travelled for various motivations, giving birth to various types of specific interest tourism. The result is that various scholars have devoted their research to these specific areas of tourism. One such area of tourism that has grown exponentially is religious tourism (which some scholars also called spiritual tourism). This type of tourism explores travels motivated by the desire to visit places that inspire an individual’s belief system and to meet with people that share the same faith. Our study aims to understand the faith-based activities and religious centres in Anaocha Local Government Area (LGA) of …

Sustainability Trajectory And Possibility, Roger Saillant, Jeremy Bendik-Keymer

The International Journal of Ethical Leadership

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Sustainability In Consumption: The Behaviors Behind Purchase, Care, And Disposal Of Apparel, Ana La Rosa

Department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fashion trend cycles have become increasingly fast-paced and unsustainable due to competition and consumer demand in the apparel sector. Despite having sustainable apparel choices available, consumers seem reluctant to adopt sustainable changes in their consumption habits due in part to the market allure of rapid turnover of goods, better known as ‘Fast Fashion’. Paired with aggressive marketing campaigns that encourage increased consumption beyond need, the apparel industry keeps expanding at alarming rates around the world. Although it has been identified that consumers increasingly care about the unethical behaviors in the industry that negatively impact the environment, this feeling does not …

Case Study: Tourism In Traditional Brazilian Quilombo Communities – From Theory Into Practice, Carolin Lusby, Thais Pinheiro

Journal of Global Business Insights

This case study discusses an initiative to aid a traditional Quilombo community in the State of Rio de Janeiro through community-based tourism (CBT). Through the Young Leaders of Americas program, a US Department of State funded initiative, the authors worked together in Brazil and the United States to increase visibility, linkages and awareness of this CBT project. The paper highlights how research in the field influenced what specific steps would be taken in practice to increase the benefits of tourism for the community. CBT as a concept is briefly discussed, and a background of Quilombos in Brazil is given.

Corporate Social Responsibility To-Come: A Derridean Interruption Of Transparency, Robert Foschia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relation between rhetorics of transparency and organizational action. Digging into CSR literature from a philosophy of communication perspective, this project seeks to determine if corporate social responsibility delivers on the promises it makes of a better world.

Drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida, the research first lays out his often overlooked contribution to the philosophy of communication, and then moves towards possible applications in deconstructing the perceived benefits of CSR, particularly in its transparent nature. By looking at organizational life from the Triple Bottom Line, this dissertation peels back the underlying rhetoric of planet, people, …

Positive Effects Of Sustainability In Buisness, Matt Westman

Undergraduate Voices

This study aims to look at various businesses and address how they view and deal with the idea of making their practice more environmentally friendly and sustainable. More specifically, it will focus on how businesses spend money to make sure they are “green.” It will show whether or not businesses are more focused on earning money and making profit or about making the transition to being more environmentally concerned even if that includes spending more money to do so. This study also explores the benefits for businesses that choose to “go green” to see if the investment of being more …

Next Generation Protocol: Innovating A Resilient Future, Andrew Steven Rudnick, Jamie Cannady, Joe Decesaro, Juan A. Ortiz Salazar

Materials Engineering

Conventional practices do not account for product life beyond end-of-sale – these practices are not sustainable. We have developed an end-of-life protocol that includes a metric that we call the Recovery Rating. The objectives of this Next Generation Protocol, beyond supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, are to encourage the production of goods designed for recovery and to promote the collaboration between consumers, the public, and the private sector to recover goods at their end-of-life. The Recovery Rating that we propose evaluates and quantifies recovery potential of products. The Recovery Rating, which is normed against embodied energy from the …

Parallel Design Of A Product And Internet Of Things (Iot) Architecture To Minimize The Cost Of Utilizing Big Data (Bd) For Sustainable Value Creation, Ryan Bradley, Ibrahim S. Jawahir, Niko Murrell, Julie Whitney

Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing Faculty Publications

Information has become today's addictive currency; hence, companies are investing billions in the creation of Internet of Things (IoT) frameworks that gamble on finding trends that reveal sustainability and/or efficiency improvements. This approach to “Big Data” can lead to blind, astronomical costs. Therefore, this paper presents a counter approach aimed at minimizing the cost of utilizing “Big Data” for sustainable value creation. The proposed approach leverages domain/expert knowledge of the system in combination with a machine learning algorithm in order to limit the needed infrastructure and cost. A case study of the approach implemented in a consumer electronics company is …

The Relationship Between Ethical Leadership And Sustainability In Small Businesses, David Amisano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since the 2008 financial crisis, business leaders' ethical behaviors have been under scrutiny. These leaders face uncertainty regarding ethical leadership behaviors and their impact. Because small business leadership involves multiple facets of behavior and decision-making, small business leaders may have an insufficient understanding of the impact of ethical leadership behaviors on the sustainability of their businesses. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and financial, social, and environmental sustainability in small businesses. Integrated social contracts theory was the theoretical framework. The participants consisted of 80 members of a chamber of commerce located in …

Fast Fashion: At What Cost?, Fiona Hall-Roulac

Senior Theses

Fashion has played a large role in society and the production of clothing has greatly changed for American consumers over the past hundred years. I will examine the notion of fast fashion and how these practices have changed how people shop and as a result how workers work. I will examine how some companies are creating transparency by showing their factories, actual prices of the goods, as well as focusing on small locally produced goods and the cost for Americans receiving low cost fast fashion goods. The 20^th century marked the industrial revolution where clothing production greatly transformed. It …

Developing Sustainable Strategies: Foundations, Method, And Pedagogy, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

While the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) is a very positive development in the horizon of management education over the last decade, there are still many significant challenges for engaging the mind of the manager in ways that will foster the values of PRME and the UN Global Compact. Responsible management education must address three foundational challenges in business education if it is to actualize the aspirations of PRME: 1) it must confront the cognitional myth that knowing is like looking, 2) it must move beyond mere analysis to systems thinking, and 3) it must transition from …

Leading Innovation: Creating A Culture Of Sustainability For Communities, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

Innovation is as essential to communities as it is to businesses and other organizations. This innovation workshop focused on core elements of leading innovation in communities.

Leading Innovation: Creating A Culture Of Sustainability Workbook, Connie Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

A workbook designed to compliment the workshop, "Leading Innovation: Creating a Culture of Sustainability" and focused on teaching Dr. Connie's 5 Rays of Innovation

Leading Innovation: Creating A Culture Of Sustainability Workshop Presentation, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Connie I Reimers-Hild, PhD, CPC

A workshop designed to lead sustainable innovation with a focus on Dr. Connie's "5 Rays" of Innovation

The Sustainability Movement And Its Effects On The Trends Of Beauty Product Packaging, Sarah Danley

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to examine industry professionals’ standpoints along with consumer demands and expectations pertaining to sustainable packaging, materials currently used in beauty product packaging, and advances in emerging trends within this sector. Using the information derived from these examinations, this study will predict the industry’s future direction and identify how the industry leaders should change in order to adapt their business practices to remain competitive and profitable within the industry.

This study made use of several research methods to gain insight on the impacts that the sustainability movement has had on the beauty and health packaging …

Global Csr And Photographic Credibility: Exploring How International Companies Portray Efforts Through Photographs In Csr Reports, Janel Lynn Norton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We are living in the age of the visual. Imagery is an important element in constructing and deriving meaning through symbols, colors, and context. Images may hold persuasive power, be used as evidence, or simply provide a moment of beauty. Organizations rely on photographs to help them convey an image to their stakeholders within annual reports. Telling an organizations' story through photographs has become an intrinsic part of their efforts to convey sustainability. We live in the age of transparency, and organizations that construct an image that is not truthful will face consequences in today's socially connected and conscious world. …

Integrity For The Common Good: The Missing Link Between Neo-Liberalists And The ‘Occupy’ Discontents, Marco Tavanti

Marco Tavanti

This study analyzes the differences between the neoliberalist and the Keynesian perspectives used in the debates emerged from the current economic crisis. The common good ethics is presented as a paradigm for recuperating the social, human and moral responsibilities of economic development. The assumption is that neoliberal economic models have produced prosperity but also technocracy, inequality and discontent. Through the examination of the principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, sustainability and synchronicity used in Catholic Social Teaching, the author introduces an integrated model for ethical decision-making beyond ideological divisions and for the common good.

Academic Civic Engagement For Capacity Building: The Role Of Universities In Building Sustainable Philanthropy Through Multi-Sector Partnerships In The Middle East, Marco Tavanti

Marco Tavanti

The paper explores academic civic engagement for capacity building and the development of sustainable philanthropy through multi-sector partnerships. It analyses the innovative strategies and models for academic engagement in civic work by the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University (IHRLI) and its success in securing the funds necessary to assist in organizational and national capacity building through large-scale partnerships between academic experts, practitioners, and local institutions and organizations in the Middle East. The paper introduces a model for academic institutional engagement in civic development highlighting key elements, such as an institution’s cultural competence, desire for meaningful engagement, and …