Team 4 - Gen‐Z/Wellness + Sustainability (Hanesbrand, Inc.)

The focus of this Hanesbrands, Inc sponsored Senior Capstone Design project is to promote the wellbeing of Gen-Z and the impact this generation has on sustainability, while also connecting the impact that COVID-19 has had on this generation living, working and learning from home. Design Team 4 has been tasked with identifying specific products and functions that align both the Gen-Z customer needs with combining attributes of wellness and sustainability to create a new product, process, and brand concept for the Hanesbrands, Inc organization. We agreed upon three major fabric goals for the new product which are to promote comfort, be sustainable in process and materials, and promote the wellbeing of the Gen-Z consumers. The final product is a multi-purpose towel made from sustainable polyester microfiber material, with its goal being to replace everyday single-use cleaning and care products around the house. A total of four benchmark products were tested and evaluated in the first stages of this project. From the testing results, the Durafresh benchmark product was then chosen as a reference for the first iteration of prototypes, which included five various materials. The five first-iteration prototypes were then tested, and their performance was compared to the chosen benchmark product. From this evaluation, a final iteration prototype and its materials were chosen to be a recycled polyester microfiber towel with the fabric goal of replacing everyday single use products around the house in a sustainable fashion. This towel will be marketed under the proposed new Hanesbrands, Inc line Hanes for Home.

Register to see the students present their project here!