Sustainable Use Practices Research Articles

Exploring data sources and farmers' perceptions regarding agrochemical use and food safety in Nigeria

AbstractBackgroundFarmers in Nigeria are using agrochemicals inappropriately which pose health and environmental risks. The current research aims at establishing the socio‐economic pressure factors behind these practices and also assesses the effectiveness of measures into reducing the risky use of agrochemicals. Data were collected from 840 participants comprising farmers and agrochemical marketers using a multistage sampling technique across six states in Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and detailed case studies were employed to explore socio‐economic antecedents of agrochemical application.ResultsFindings of this study showed that market demands, costs, and unavailability of safer compounds put the farmers in a dilemma regarding proper usage of agrochemicals. Among the farmers in Esanland, 96% of them applied agrochemicals in their farming activities without first following the best practices, and the reason was that 61% of them mentioned that they were compelled to use it due to market demands. Likewise in Fadan Daji, 65% farmers revealed that high cost and no training were the causes of their improper use of agrochemicals. This study also established that factors that hindered the prevention of these practices including financial constraints, lack of adequate education and training, and weak enforcement of regulations.ConclusionThis study suggested that to encourage proper utilization of agrochemicals, extended emphasis needs to be placed on addressing the socio‐economic factors. Hence, the study recommended the following measures: incentives to facilitate the use of sustainable practices by encouraging financial rewards, extensive education, and training on the benefits of sustainable practices as well as new legislation to reduce supply of reckless agrochemicals.

Observatório territorial em Bahía Blanca e Punta Alta, Argentina, como instrumento para la sustentabilidade

Bahía Blanca and Punta Alta are the most important urban agglomeration in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, with 300 extensive farmers in their area of influence. In this semi-arid region, wind erosion affects human health in the city, due to suspended dust, and the sustainability of agricultural production, due to soil loss. Faced with this critical territorial problem, the Rural Extension Agency of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology Bahía Blanca has conducted out surveys and interacted with different actors to set up a Territorial Observatory of Local Sustainable Practices. This article aims to describe the levels of information generated in this process, which is still under development, and to assess its usefulness in recognizing transformations towards the use of sustainable practices in the territory. The study adopts an exploratory-descriptive design. Geographic Information Systems maps and the MESMIS method generated information layers. These were socialized and disseminated to contribute to understanding the territorial dynamics in the adoption of sustainable innovations and to reduce the margin of error in the decisions of public-private actors in the territory for its development and sustainability.

Practices to Improve the Sustainability of Australian Cold Storage Facilities

With the ever-increasing threat of climate change and global warming, ways to make energy intensive buildings, such as cold storage warehouses essential for food preservation, more sustainable need to be found. Some refrigerated warehouse owners may be unaware or unsure of the benefits obtainable from implementing sustainable practices and technologies. To search for innovations that could inform the owners and managers of cold storage warehouses about how to enhance their sustainability, convergent interviewing of subject matter experts was conducted. The resulting practices and processes were organized into a hierarchy that ranged from essential to best practices that can be implemented to improve the sustainability of refrigerated warehouses. Examples of these practices and technologies include ideal refrigeration systems, racking methods, and insulation types. To encourage the use of sustainable practices and technologies, more reporting on successful or unsuccessful applications of practices and technologies needs to be communicated. Applying change diagnostic tools such as convergent interviewing enables a practical and industry focused set of outcomes to be determined that can help drive change towards more sustainable cold storage warehouses in Australia.

Transforming the Corn Belt: A recipe for collaborative, farmer-driven research and diffusion of innovation

Practical Farmers of Iowa is a unique and longstanding farmer-to-farmer network with a history of driving the use of sustainable practices like cover cropping and low-chemical-input farming in the heart of the US Corn Belt. PFI was at the center of the launch of participatory, on-farm agricultural research in the 1980s, and has grown to a network of over 6,000 farmers, researchers, advocates, and professionals using farmer-driven research and knowledge sharing to change deeply embedded norms of industrial farming in the region. Through in-depth interviews with 26 current and former member farmers, we explore the role of PFI in the adoption of conservation practices, identify its “recipe” of success—the combination of the most important elements of the network according to its member farmers, and discuss issues of how the network should navigate current and future challenges. Farmers told us that PFI generates and shares information, provides a supportive community, acts as a long-distance coffee shop for alternative-minded farmers, and serves as a catalyst for change in the region. The most important aspects of PFI that farmers said supported them in adopting conservation practices were its diverse membership, autonomous functioning, culture of openness, and non-ideological nature. Moving forward, the network faces questions regarding 1) whether to place its focus on corn and soybean farmers or spread its efforts across a diversity of types of farmers and 2) how to build trust and communication between farmers as they become more geographically distant due to increasing farm consolidation. An understanding of how the network functions can enable a deeper understanding of the role of peer-to-peer networks in driving transformative change in agricultural practices and how they can be shaped to create the most impact for farmers.

Identification of Sustainable Practices Developed by the Industrial Sector

The inclusion of sustainable practices in industrial concerns and decisions may become essential to sustaining future business in the coming decades. Accordingly, this article sought to present the most widely implemented sustainable practices in the selected industries, the benefits of sustainable practices to industries and measures of efficiency of the use of sustainable practices. For this, a systematic review of the literature was carried out through the databases Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus. The key words were identified from a previous reading on the topic in articles and closely related to the focus areas of this research. For studies used were considered by means of criteria: those of inclusion encompass national and international academic articles through established keywords and those of exclusion encompass dissertations, theses and books. As a result, 914 articles were observed, of which 215 articles were selected through the reading of titles and abstracts. Of these 215 articles, 44 were selected observing the selected criteria. Of these selected articles, 27 articles were from the ISI - Web of Science database and 17 from the Scopus search database. Among the articles, waste management was the most cited sustainable practice. Industrial sectors of Engineering and Construction, followed by the Wine and Automotive sectors are the target of several researches. Nevertheless, the systematic review of literature showed which sustainable practices adopting has been a determining factor in the success and maintenance of the industry in the market.

The extent, perceived causes and impacts of land use and land cover change in Tyhume Valley, South Africa

There is limited knowledge on how people living in communal areas perceive land use and land cover (LULC) change and the impacts it has on sustainable access to essential ecosystem goods and services. This study used seven wet season Landsat images covering 1989 to 2019 and the Extreme Gradient Boosting algorithm to map LULC in Tyhume Valley, South Africa. Analyses of trends in LULC and long-term changes in rainfall over the same period were based on the Mann Kendall (MK) statistical technique. Perceptions on the causes and impacts of the observed trends were solicited from 102 respondents and summarized through frequency analysis. Major trends that emerged from image-based analysis include the expansion of Vachellia karroo by 25% (τ = 0.98; p = 0.004), decrease in pastureland by 18% (τ = –0.90, p = 0.007), decrease in cropland by 9.6% (τ = –0.90, p = 0.007), decrease in surface water by 1.1% (-0.90, p = 0.007), and increase in built-up area by 2.5% (τ = 1.00, p = 0.003). Perceived causes of these trends include the eradication of land access control systems, poor management of surface water, lack of farmer support programs, and 14 years of negative rainfall anomalies. The impacts of these changes include long-distance trekking of animals to pastures and watering points, increased livestock malnutrition and mortality, decline of medicinal and culturally significant trees, increased purchasing of stock feed, increased unemployment, and consumption of unhealthy food. The study concludes by highlighting the need to accommodate local perceptions in the formulation of policies and practices for sustainable use of ecosystem services.

Mineral Content and Phytochemical Composition of Avocado var. Hass Grown Using Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Ecuador.

Avocado demand has increased in recent years due to the nutraceutical properties that this fruit has and its positive impacts on human health; however, avocado production also requires sustainable alternatives to improve its cultivation. The objective of this study was to carry out characterization of the mineral content and phytochemical compounds in avocado fruit of the Hass variety grown using sustainable agricultural practices in Ecuador. Our results show an increase in fruit quality traits, such as firmness, and in the content of soluble solids, protein, fiber, fat, carotenoids, Ca, Mg, Zn and stearic acid in the pulp of the avocado Hass variety, as well as an initial trend of yield increase with the application of sustainable practices. Moreover, antioxidant activity was associated with polyphenol content. There were positive correlations of Mg with K and Ca, and of flavonoids with linolelaidic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Overall, our results indicate that avocado can be used as a functional and nutritional food due to its phytochemical composition and the mineral content of its pulp, which contributes to the promotion of its consumption and encourages healthy eating. In addition, the use of sustainable practices, such as fertigation and the application of microorganisms, is also promoted for growing avocado.

How sustainable practices influence guests' willingness to pay a price premium in Fiji

PurposeThis study seeks to determine the effect of sustainable practices on willingness to pay a price premium (WTPP) in the hotels and resorts in the Fiji islands. It will also assess how implementing these sustainable practices influences guest re-visit intentions.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research technique was used which included in-depth interview sessions with ten Fijian resort managers and 15 hotel guests. The website of Etic Hotels was also used to gather data about the green practices provided by resorts and hotels. A non-random purposive sampling method was used to select respondents.FindingsResults indicate that implementing sustainability practices has significantly and positively affected guest intentions to return to Fijian Hotels and resorts. The results also demonstrated that customers are willing to pay a higher price for the use of environmentally friendly practices in Fiji's hotels and resorts.Originality/valueThough a few studies have been conducted examining the linkages between sustainable practices and the Fijian hotel industry, this article is a novel exploration of the use of sustainable practices in hotels and resorts and how they influence guest re-visit intentions and WTPP in Fiji Islands.

Green management: the sustainability’s path of no return in organizations

Objective: This paper sought to investigate whether competitiveness is affected by the use of sustainable practices and programs, concluding that yes, both can go together, strengthening the organization and proving to be a competitive differential. Based on the concerns about sustainability versus competitiveness in the nautical sector, the following research problem was defined: in what way can sustainability and competitiveness move in the same direction in an organization in the nautical segment? Based on this question, the general objective was defined as identifying the tangible and intangible criteria of sustainability and competitiveness in the perception of the stakeholders of an organization in the nautical segment.
 Methodology/approach: The quantitative approach was used for data measurement, predetermined variables, data analysis and interpretation. With the focus on the interpretation of the research data and its analysis, establishing a closed questionnaire with the intention of collecting clear answers and facilitating the understanding of the research population.
 Originality/Relevance: The application of sustainable practices acts as a motivating source of competitiveness in a nautical segment organization; all those involved are aware that sustainability is as important as competitiveness; and the sustainable practices developed have a proportional positive impact on the responsibility of those involved in their homes. Main conclusions: The organization is aware that sustainability is as important as competitiveness. And, therefore, that the sustainable practices developed in the boating organization have proportional positive impact on the responsibility of those involved within their households, and the hypotheses are proven true by the results obtained.
 Theoretical/methodological contributions: This correlation between sustainability and competitiveness is well accepted by stakeholders, and the junction of both is seen as fundamental to a good progress of all work and environmental programs, and can be considered a differential of the nautical organization. And both tangible and intangible aspects are noticeable to all involved, who seek to participate in environmental programs, adding value to the name of the nautical organization and those who seek to disseminate these sustainable practices together.

Integrating Industry 4.0 and agile new product development practices to evaluate the penetration of sustainable development goals in manufacturing industries

PurposeThe United Nations member countries adopted a set of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. It encourages the use of sustainable practices during new product development (NPD). Competitiveness has put pressure on organizations to maintain their market share and look for new approaches related to NPD. The current study aims to focus on creating a framework that can help to achieve the SDGs by adopting agile new product development (ANPD) practices and Industry 4.0 technologies.Design/methodology/approachFrom the literature, various ANPD practices, Industry 4.0 technologies, performance metrics, their interconnection and their contribution toward achieving SDGs are extracted. The weights of selected Industry 4.0–ANPD practices are computed by robust best worst method (RBWM), and the Fuzzy-VIKOR method is used to rank the selected performance metrics. To test the robustness of the developed framework, sensitivity analysis is also performed.FindingsThe results show that among the various Industry 4.0–ANPD practices “Multi-skilled employees” have the highest weight followed by “Customer requirement analysis and prioritization.” Whereas for performance metrics, “The number of innovative products launched per year” is ranked first, with the “Average time between two launches” at second place.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the adoption of ANPD practices and Industry 4.0 technologies for the achievement of the business SDGs. The shortlisted Industry 4.0–ANPD practices will help in resolving the social and environmental issues. The set of performance metrics will help practitioners and managers to evaluate the performance of ANPD in the context of business SDGs.Originality/valueThis study adds to the understanding related to Industry 4.0–ANPD practices adoption. And to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is believed that no similar work has been done previously and by using industry insights into technology components, this work contributes to valuable insights into the subject.

Chemical Methods for Microbiological Control of Winemaking: An Overview of Current and Future Applications

Preservation technologies for winemaking have relied mainly on the addition of sulfur dioxide (SO2), in consequence of the large spectrum of action of this compound, linked to the control of undesirable microorganisms and the prevention of oxidative phenomena. However, its potential negative effects on consumer health have addressed the interest of the international research on alternative treatments to substitute or minimize the SO2 content in grape must and wine. This review is aimed at analyzing chemical methods, both traditional and innovative, useful for the microbiological stabilization of wine. After a preliminary description of the antimicrobial and technological properties of SO2, the additive traditionally used during wine production, the effects of the addition (in must and wine) of other compounds officially permitted in winemaking, such as sorbic acid, dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC), lysozyme and chitosan, are discussed and evaluated. Furthermore, other substances showing antimicrobial properties, for which the use for wine microbiological stabilization is not yet permitted in EU, are investigated. Even if these treatments exhibit a good efficacy, a single compound able to completely replace SO2 is not currently available, but a combination of different procedures might be useful to reduce the sulfite content in wine. Among the strategies proposed, particular interest is directed towards the use of insect-based chitosan as a reliable alternative to SO2, mainly due to its low environmental impact. The production of wines containing low sulfite levels by using pro-environmental practices can meet both the consumers’ expectations, who are even more interested in the healthy traits of foods, and wine-producers’ needs, who are interested in the use of sustainable practices to promote the profile of their brand.

Improving Containerized Nursery Crop Sustainability: Effects of Conservation-driven Adaptations in Soilless Substrate and Water Use on Plant Growth and Soil-borne Disease Development

Containerized crop production faces increasing sustainability challenges with both soilless substrate and water use. To facilitate use of sustainable practices, we evaluated plant health impacts of two substrates, bark and wood fiber, which we contrasted with peat, a substrate that is slower to renew; this was overlaid with an analysis of the effects of water-saving–targeted irrigation reductions, compared with typical well-watered conditions. Health impacts were evaluated in two crops, considering both physiological and disease impacts for tomato with and without Phytophthora capsici, and chrysanthemum with and without Phytopythium helicoides. Substrate type was a strong determinant of plant health, wherein crops grown in a HydraFiber-peat mix (“fiber”) performed worse than those in bark and peat, with up to a 50% and 45% reduction in shoot biomass in tomato and chrysanthemum, respectively (P < 0.001). Tomato decline incidence from P. capsici was 3–6 times higher in fiber than other substrates, and fiber was the only substrate where the effect of P. capsici enhanced decline and rot development compared with noninoculated plants (P < 0.05). In bark, reduced irrigation consistently inhibited tomato and chrysanthemum growth and shoot water content (typically P < 0.001). In peat, whereas tomato growth was inhibited under reduced irrigation (P = 0.012–0.013), chrysanthemum growth was often unaffected. Growth in fiber was uniformly poor regardless of irrigation regime for both crops, and an irrigation treatment effect was not typically apparent. Reduced irrigation enhanced pathogen effects in fiber and peat for tomato and fiber and bark for chrysanthemum (P < 0.05). This is perhaps the first study to evaluate HydraFiber interactions with disease and reduced irrigation and suggests that this product consistently incurs costs to crop productivity. However, the peat-replacing bark substrate has strong potential to optimize plant growth physiologically and via disease suppression and can be used under reduced irrigation without compromising economic productivity of the system.

Can teacher‐centered community‐based conservation programs influence student household sustainable behaviors near a biodiversity hotspot?

AbstractLocal communities living on the borders of protected areas can be key drivers of environmental degradation. Community‐based conservation initiatives seek to use sustainable activities as a strategy for mitigating these degradative behaviors while improving livelihoods but must be scalable to the site and sustainable over time. Teacher training, as a means of information transfer to the broader community, is one technique for implementing long‐term sustainable behavior programs. To be effective, sustainability practices must reach beyond behavior change in teachers to influence students and the broader community in which they work. UNITE for the Environment (UNITE) is a community‐based environmental sustainability program located along the border of Kibale National Park in Uganda, a site of high biodiversity, particularly for primates. UNITE focuses on conducting teacher trainings with 12 schools within 5 km of the park. We conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the transfer of UNITE's sustainability practices to the broader community. Families of teachers and students from schools that UNITE worked with, as well as control schools, were surveyed to assess their use of sustainable activities promoted by UNITE. Sustainable activities included specific agricultural practices, composting, bee‐keeping and fuel‐efficient stoves, while controlling for possible confounding variables between households including socioeconomic, spatial, and demographic variables. Results revealed that UNITE households, in comparison with control group households, showed greater use of sustainable practices for 12 of 13 behaviors tested. Wealth was the most influential of socioeconomic factors, with wealthier individuals more likely to implement sustainable activities. UNITE participants had greater value of the environment and belief in their ability to affect the environment than members of the control group. This study demonstrates the ability of teacher training programs to influence sustainable behavior, even while controlling for socioeconomic factors, suggesting that other programs should consider this approach to community‐based conservation.

Determinants of Ruminant Farmers' Use of Sustainable Production Practices for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Enugu State, Nigeria.

A sustainable ruminant production system ensures economically viable livestock systems that meet the current and future demands of animal products as well as the environmental safety of current and future generations. The study analyzed the determinants of ruminant farmers' use of sustainable production practices for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Enugu State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select ninety six (96) ruminant farmers that constituted the sample for the study. Semi-structured interview schedule with open ended questions was used in data collection. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and Pearson Moment Correlation statistics. Access to veterinary services (t = 2.056, p = 0.044), monthly household income (t = 3.582, p = 0.001) and annual income from ruminant production (t = −2.635, p = 0.011) were socio-economic factors that significantly influenced use of sustainable practices. The adjusted R- square implies that the three factors were able to explain 24% of variance in use of sustainable practices. There is a significant positive correlation (r = 0.426, p = 0.000) between knowledge level of farmers and their use of sustainable production practices. Schemes for financial inclusion such as payment for ecosystem services can spur farmers to adopt mitigation strategies. Improved climate change knowledge can enhance ruminant farmer's resilience to the increasing impacts of climate change.

A simplified strategy based on the house of quality to prioritize farming practices under variable weather conditions

This work describes for the first time a strategy based on the house of quality analysis (HOQ) to select a farming practice adaptable to variable weather conditions (VWC). Five basic requirements: water, soil, fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides, together with six agricultural practices: organic farming (OF), agroecology (AE), conservation agriculture (CA), genetically-modified varieties (GMV), intensified agriculture (IA), and climate smart agriculture (CSA) were correlated, assessed, and prioritized. HOQ concluded that water and soil are essential for the development of a crop, whereas the need of agrochemicals was less noticeable because they could be substituted by the use of sustainable practices. OF and AE resulted more convenient because they use sustainable methods to manage a crop. The efficacy of CA and GMV to face VWC was limited by factors like the weather conditions of the site, the type of crop, and costs. IA and CSA were satisfactory when financing for the development is available. The synergy observed among OF, AE, and CA would ease transition and/or their simultaneous adoption; it would improve sustainability, productivity, and profitability for the farmer as long as the needs of the region, management of resources, and interested parties are taken into account.

Adaptive or Absent: A Critical Review of Building System Resilience in the LEED Rating System

Since people living in developed nations across Europe, North America, and Australia spend most of their lives indoors, protecting indoor environmental quality is critical for protecting human health. As stressors such as COVID-19 and climate change further complicate living conditions, conflicting system priorities underscore the need for resilience in all building systems. In the engineering and architectural fields, sustainability rating frameworks are used to note, reward, and motivate the use of sustainable practices. As such, it is crucial to ensure that these frameworks genuinely encourage resilience in building systems. This paper conducts a review of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design–Building Design and Construction (LEED BD+C v4.1) framework for New Construction through a credit-level analysis, to determine the extent to which the framework encourages the resilience of building systems beyond the scope of structure. Researchers identified, tabulated, and deconstructed relevant credits according to four key resilience factors: diversity, efficiency, adaptability, and cohesion. Findings indicated that, while efficiency is well supported, diversity, adaptability, and cohesion can be enhanced. The existing rating system provides a strong base upon which improvements can be made, but falls short of adequately encouraging the wide adoption of resilience needed for long-term sustainability. In short, while the LEED credits do reward resilient designs, they do not yet actively inspire them.

Conversion of End-of-Life Household Materials into Building Insulating Low-Cost Solutions for the Development of Vulnerable Contexts: Review and Outlook towards a Circular and Sustainable Economy

In a world increasingly aware of the environmental cost of the current production/ consumption model, the use of sustainable practices to reduce our environmental impact as a society becomes imperative. One way to reduce this impact is to increase the reuse of materials that are considered, by current definitions of ”waste”, at their end of life. End-of-Life Household Materials (EoLHM) can be defined as household waste materials that still possess exploitable properties, thus making them suitable for reuse. There are several studies in the literature that address the recycling of these materials. When it comes to their reuse, unfortunately, only a limited number of studies are available. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the possibility to convert EoLHM, such as clothes or packaging, into low-cost thermal insulating materials for the improvement of the indoor thermal comfort in buildings, especially for households at risk of suffering from energy poverty. For this purpose, a comprehensive literature review and a qualitative analysis of both commercial and EoLHM are proposed. Commercial thermal insulating materials analysis is used as a reference to measure the performance of EoLHM. Important aspects to be considered when choosing suitable EoLHM for a smart conversion and reuse are also investigated. The most important outcome of this investigation is the comprehension that the conversion of EoLHM into insulating material is possible, and it implies a direct reduction in waste production, with environmental benefits and positive social implications. However, some aspects such as adaptability, life expectancy, collection and storage are, at present, in need of further thinking and development to make the EoLHM reuse and re-conversion processes viable on a large (neighborhood/city) scale.

Effects of Management and Hillside Position on Soil Organic Carbon Stratification in Mediterranean Centenary Olive Grove

The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.

Relation between antecedents, barriers and consequences of sustainable practices in the wine tourism sector

This research aims to test the relation between the antecedents, barriers and consequences of adopting sustainable practices in Portuguese wine tourism companies. Quantitative research resorted to collecting primary data from 103 Portuguese wine tourism companies, the data analysis technique being structural equation modelling using SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results indicate that the antecedents (internal pressure and external pressure) influence the adoption of sustainable practices in wine tourism. In addition, the adoption of sustainable practices may result in benefits for companies in the wine tourism sector. Finally, the barriers were found not to moderate the relation between antecedents (internal pressure and external pressure) and the adoption of sustainable practices. Therefore, even if barriers are perceived by business-people, they tend to continue to adopt sustainable practices in wine tourism. • Wine tourism firms are motivated and encouraged to adopt sustainable practices. • Antecedents and pressures affect the use of sustainable practices in wine tourism. • Barriers do not moderate the relation between antecedents and sustainable practices. • Sustainable practices influence the benefits perceived by the wine tourism firms.

Use of a multicriteria model for evaluating the use of sustainable practices in a clothing industry

This study aims to use a multicriteria model to evaluate sustainable practices in sectors of a garment industry. Therefore, a theoretical basis was formed and steps were implemented regarding the case study, using not only the sustainability, but also the synchronisation of sectors in the company. The multicriteria decision support method fuzzy TOPSIS was used to evaluate the performance of alternatives. The results showed that the use of this method to evaluate the sectors can help managers to make decisions, so that the company improves more and more in the aspect of a sustainable experience. Other categories, such as the general direction of the company, can be considered in future studies. Previous research focused on theoretical studies on sustainability. This study showed the mathematical models to define the best alternative of sustainability in the manufacturing industries.