Additive manufacturing for zero waste apparel manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka : a literature review

Abstract

Global pre consumer apparel waste generation in the apparel manufacturing industry drastically increased with the rise of production volume. Therefore, the apparel manufacturing industry focuses on different ways to minimise waste, and the zero waste concept is one of the main concepts regarding waste elimination. However, the achievement of the zero waste concept remains challenging and traditional waste elimination techniques or methods are outgrown to achieve the zero waste concept within the current context. Accordingly, integration of novel technologies shows considerable opportunities to achieve zero waste concepts. AM contributes to zero waste goals by enabling precise material deposition and eliminating cutting waste, which minimises as well as eliminates waste occurring in the apparel manufacturing process. The fourth industrial revolution (I4.0) introduced many technological concepts, and Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been identified as an integral part of this new trend. While developed countries integrate AM technology into their apparel manufacturing industries for waste reduction, Sri Lanka’s apparel manufacturing industry remains in its infant stage of adoption, and there is no adoption of AM technology in the apparel manufacturing industry. Thus, this study focuses on investigating the adoption of additive manufacturing concepts for the apparel manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka to achieve zero waste goals. To achieve this research aim, an extensive non-systematic literature review was conducted, synthesising insights from existing scholarly works. The findings indicate that while additive manufacturing presents significant potential for advancing zero-waste apparel production, several barriers must be addressed to facilitate its successful implementation. The findings of this study reveal that there are some potential as well as barriers in adopting additive manufacturing for zero-waste apparel manufacturing in Sri Lanka. High fidelity, realisation of complex structures, property predictability, flexibility of manufacturing, improving sustainability, minimum manufacturing footprint and on-demand manufacturing are some remarkable potentials of additive manufacturing. Accordingly, these attributes position AM as a promising solution for minimizing waste in the apparel industry. In contrast, machine and material cost, raw material availability, insufficient design knowledge and non-recyclable nature are some of the identified potential barriers. In conclusion, further research and strategic interventions are recommended to overcome these challenges and facilitate the sustainable integration of AM technologies in the industry.