Discarded Hotel Linens: An Overlooked Business Venture Opportunity
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2021-01
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Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Abstract
This case study focuses on the development of a business plan that utilizes discarded or disposedDisposal occurs when the garment leaves the possession of an individual (Winakor 1969). The action of disposing or discarding of may involve trashing, donating, swapping, recycling, repurposing, and/or reselling. textile waste from the travel and tourism lodging industry. The developed business plan should focus on diverting hotel textile products, which experience high disposal rates, out of landfill. This case study was inspired by Westin Hotels & Resorts Project Rise: ThreadForward program. In this program, linens that had expired their acceptable use lifeUse life refers to the useful life of a product; the time during which the product remains integrated and usable for its primary function for which it was conceived and produced. (no greater than one year) were transformed into children’s sleepwear through textile recycling.Textile recycling is the reprocessing of a textile product using chemical, mechanical, or thermal processes to return the textile back to its original fiber form (Lewis et al. 2017). This program diverted discarded linens (textile waste) from landfills while fulfilling a community need. The development of this “green tourism” program stemmed from the creative ideas of hotel employees and led to a sustainability initiative at the corporate level. Completion of this case study will provide an opportunity to develop creative thinking skills while addressing the challenge of textile landfill waste, specifically products connected the travel and tourism industry, and result in a structured business plan for product implementation. This case study will also engage critical thinking by suggesting solutions that may address a need within a selected community.
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This case study is published as Binhajib, A., Eike, R., Ulasewicz, C., Discarded Hotel Linens: An Overlooked Business Venture Opportunity. Boomsbury Fashion Central. 2021; DOI: 10.5040/9781350197046.002. Posted with permission.