Importing Clothing Made from Recycled Textile Materials? A Study of Retailers’ Sourcing Strategies in Five European Countries

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Must we repeat "the study's findings' within 10 lines of each other? lines 50-60. Please mix it up for more engaging reading. 

Table 1 is centered, wonky, and therefore unnecessarily complicated to read. Align left, please.

This appears to be nothing more than 'comparative advantages': factor proportion trade theory. If so, say so. It seems more of a free-market axiom than a theory per se.

 

Some component, however brief, should be included in the abstract of the paper (since it is the most read):

 

First, results show that EU retailers sourced clothing using recycled 403 textile materials from diverse sources, including over 40 developing and developed coun- 404 tries worldwide. Second, other than assortment diversity, no statistical evidence shows 405 that developing countries had advantages over developed ones regarding product sophis- 406 tication, replenishment frequency, and pricing for clothing made from recycled textile ma- 407 terials in the five EU markets. Third, a supplying country’s geographic location statisti- 408 cally affects the type of recycled clothing EU retailers import. In general, EU retailers 409 sourced relatively more sophisticated clothing items (e.g., dresses and outerwear) target- 410 ing the mass and value market from Asia.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Must we repeat "the study's findings' within 10 lines of each other? lines 50-60. Please mix it up for more engaging reading. 

Table 1 is centered, wonky, and therefore unnecessarily complicated to read. Align left, please.

This appears to be nothing more than 'comparative advantages': factor proportion trade theory. If so, say so. It seems more of a free-market axiom than a theory per se.

 

Some component, however brief, should be included in the abstract of the paper (since it is the most read):

 

First, results show that EU retailers sourced clothing using recycled 403 textile materials from diverse sources, including over 40 developing and developed coun- 404 tries worldwide. Second, other than assortment diversity, no statistical evidence shows 405 that developing countries had advantages over developed ones regarding product sophis- 406 tication, replenishment frequency, and pricing for clothing made from recycled textile ma- 407 terials in the five EU markets. Third, a supplying country’s geographic location statisti- 408 cally affects the type of recycled clothing EU retailers import. In general, EU retailers 409 sourced relatively more sophisticated clothing items (e.g., dresses and outerwear) target- 410 ing the mass and value market from Asia.

 

My compliments to the authors. An interesting and nicely written piece of research.

Author Response

see attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This topic is very new and interesting. The authors choose five European countries, could you please explain the reasons, why these countries? why not other countries?

In the introducation part, at the beginning, can you talk about the background of this paper? 

For the second and third paragraph of page 1 and page 3,4,6,7, 9,the formats are not good, please revise it.

Please change the title from literature to hypothesis.

research design is too simple

 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

it is ok

Author Response

see attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors,

 

I appreciate your hard work and commitment.

 

Here are suggestions to enhance your paper:

 

1- Abstract: Ensure the abstract includes study aims, methodology, findings, and recommendations. The research method needs clarification after stating the study aim.

 

2- Introduction: The introduction sets context, defines the problem, reviews relevant literature, outlines objectives, and previews methodology. Strengthen it by elaborating on previous aspects and mentioning the study gap within the literature review. Here focus on the research problem.

 

3- Literature review: Tables 1 and 2 might be more suitable elsewhere, as the literature review should focus on previous studies' aims, findings, and identifying gaps to justify your study.

 

4- Ensure coherence in the results between the first and second hypotheses. The first hypothesis proves that retailers from the selected five European Union countries imported clothing made from recycled textile materials from various countries. While the second hypothesis proves that near sourcing from within the EU played a critical role in EU retailers’ sourcing strategy for clothing made from recycled textile materials. Please ensure no conflict between the two results? Please double check.

 

5- Consider placing statistical details before hypothesis testing for better alignment, as hypothesis testing should rely on statistical analysis. I mean, after testing hypotheses, any statistics are useless. 

 

6- Enhance clarity by organizing statistical analyses according to their respective hypotheses if possible.

 

Best wishes,

 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing is needed

Author Response

see attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

OK now