Blog #2 - Internship at the Swedish EPA

Over the past weeks, my internship at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has become increasingly handson. Working within the department for a Resource efficient continues to give me valuable insight into how sustainability policies are developed, coordinated, and implemented in practice.

One of the most interesting experiences so far was giving a presentation on environmental monitoring and trend analysis within the textile industry. Preparing for it helped me better understand the complexity of sustainability challenges connected to textiles, especially regarding circular economy goals and upcoming EU regulations.

I have also taken part in several internal coordination meetings connected to new EU legislation. Since many of these regulations affect multiple areas within the agency, collaboration between departments is essential. It has been interesting to see how different expertise comes together to interpret regulations.

In addition, I have been involved in organising webinars and communicating with participants, which has given me insight into another important part of sustainability work: knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement. What continues to stand out to me is how interconnected sustainability work is. Environmental issues are rarely isolated; they are linked to economics, industry, policy, and communication. Seeing these connections in practice has made my studies feel much more tangible, and I’m excited to continue learning and contributing during the rest of my internship.

Communications and Commercial Intern 2/3

Communications and Commercial Intern: Post 2/3

Irene Rumiz

Hi!

After a little over a month as a Communications and Commercial Intern at The Loop Factory, I’m feeling really motivated. I’m genuinely happy to be part of a company that listens to its people and trusts their talent and potential.

Coming from the Dominican Republic, my previous work experience was… let’s just say intense. On the bright side, I seem to have unlocked “2x speed mode,” which meant I wrapped up my main tasks faster than expected.

So, when I sat down with the team to talk about what was next, I assumed I’d just get more tasks (which would’ve been totally fine). Instead, they asked me what I wanted to learn more about, which areas interested me most, and how they could shape my role around that. Honestly, that meant a lot. Being able to express my interests and have them taken seriously has made this experience even more valuable.

My ideas are actually considered, and I’ve even been given a slot in general team meetings to share my progress. That small (but big!) detail makes me feel really happy, and genuinely part of this amazing team. It’s also really nice that, even though meetings are usually held in Swedish, everyone switches to English so I can follow along and be part of the conversation. That kind of consideration doesn’t go unnoticed.

Now, while I’m still actively involved in communication tasks, I’ve also started exploring the commercial side of things and supporting the team there. It’s been great to get a broader view of the company.

As for commuting, it's still going strong. It can get a bit tiring sometimes, but there’s always the option of a strategic train nap (alarm included, of course… lesson learned).

I’ll keep you posted in part 3!

IR

 Blog #2: From Pixels to Personalization – The Tech Behind the Avatar

In my previous post I talked about the “why” of my virtual fitting room. Now, let’s get to the “how.” That is, how do I take two basic photos from a smartphone and turn them into a dynamic, anatomically realistic 3D mesh?

I have blended RealityScan and MetaHuman concepts to morph my MakeHuman base models to avoid the "too smooth" look of generic software. My pipeline uses a powerful open-source engine named Godot to host the 3D environment. The magic begins with Otsu’s thresholding, which produces a binarized image and extracts a clean silhouette. The system then automatically finds key landmarks to measure based on existing anthropometric ratios; for example, the waist should be three-eighths of a person’s height.

The real challenge is not only to create a static model but also to let it walk. I can rig the skeleton with Mixamo so I can try out dresses in dynamic poses like “reaching” or "stepping." This is where Enhanced Position-Based Dynamics (PBD) comes in. PBD, in contrast to traditional simulations, enables me to observe real-time "draglines," diagonal wrinkles indicating a garment is too tight, thus allowing me to perform a subjective fit analysis that numerical data alone might miss.

I'm currently struggling to implement high-fidelity cloth physics in Godot directly. Is this technical deep dive into morphing and landmark detection making sense, or do I need to explain more about the specifics of the “3/8ths rule” math?

Production Intern at Hodakova 2/3

 Post 2/3 

Building upon the previous post, one solution to limited sourcing availability is inventory - throughout these weeks, I have learned that although in traditional supply chains inventory is often considered a burden, in chains relying on deadstock inventory can be life saving. Inventory management, therefore, becomes another crucial part of production processes. Despite being rather time-consuming (sorting, categorising and inspecting quality of material, counting, labelling, measuring), knowing your inventory is crucial for future production planning, particularly when relying on deadstock garments which availability is often volatile. 

1/3 Marketing & PR Intern

Hi,

I’ve now been working at Envii for the past five weeks as a Marketing & PR Intern. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to support the E-commerce and Marketing team across a wide range of tasks.

My days have included everything from social media planning and content production to assisting with CRM and newsletters, PR collaborations and gifting, as well as providing general team support. One of my bigger ongoing projects has been an in-store and e-commerce activation, where I’ve been involved in both planning and execution, ensuring a cohesive experience across channels – something I could share more about in future posts.

Looking ahead, the coming month will involve more campaign-related work as the team prepares for a new launch at the end of July, including coordinating campaign, e-commerce, and social content shoots.

For the final report, I will focus on exploring different websites and understanding how Envii could make theirs more inspiring and engaging. I am also looking forward to connecting this with current research and highlighting the importance of sustainability communication across digital channels.

What I’ve especially enjoyed about this internship is the small team structure, which has allowed me to gain hands-on experience across PR, digital marketing, and brand communication. I’ve been able to work on a variety of tasks while also shaping my focus based on my interests, making the experience even more meaningful.

It’s also been exciting to see how Envii is in the process of reintroducing its brand, which has been reflected across all departments. The team has created a space for creativity and idea development, and I truly appreciate how they encourage everyone to share their ideas freely.

Speaking of the team, they have welcomed me warmly, and I’ve genuinely been enjoying my internship so far. Not only are they very good at what they do, but they also create such a positive and supportive work environment to be in. It’s been nice getting to know everyone through both work and our team breakfasts and lunches along the way. :)

Looking forward to the weeks ahead!

 

Blog #1: Solving the Fashion Fit Crisis with Open Source Tech

For my field study, I am trying to develop a digital virtual fitting room to address the "trillion-dollar problem" of online returns, which can soar to 40% because of poor garment fit. While I initially considered using a proprietary engine, I have pivoted to a more specialised, open-source pipeline that prioritises anatomy accuracy and real-time physics with less programming and extensive customisation.

One of the key findings of my research is that many professional fitting tools tend to produce avatars that are “too smooth” or perfectly symmetrical. Such models do not take into account the realities of age, including the distribution of body fat, contours of muscle, sagging and asymmetry. To fill this gap, I am using MakeHuman for parametric modelling and MeshLab to clean and process 3D point clouds to create a more realistic human form.

I rigged the characters with "Mixamo" and simulated the cloth using an enhanced PBD framework. The cloth simulation is believable and optimised to be used in normal devices. This student friendly approach aims for hyper-personalised sizing with an error rate of less than 10%, dramatically improving consumer experience and cutting down on industry waste.

 Blog 1/3 - RAI for SCArCITY project.

A month into my research Assistant internship which is part of the FORMAS-funded project SCArCITY: Scaling Circular Business Models in Cascaded Systems, which focuses on understanding how Circular business models (CBM's) operate and scale across different cascading loops in the textile and clothing (T&C)  industry. The purpose of the study that I am doing isto explore how textile materials/products can move through different stages while retaining value overtime and how this performance can be evaluated

The first four weeks have been mainly focused on building a foundational understanding of the topic with the core work of Sirkin and ten Houten (1994), redefining the purpose and methodology with guidance from my supervisor. The framework and four principles from Sirkin and ten Houten (1994), appropriate fit, augmentation, consecutive relinking and balancing resource metabolism have been important in helping me understand cascading and material flow better. The next step was to understand cascading in T&C industry in relation with circular economy CE.

Finding literature was a real challenge to begin with due to the papers being relatively fresh and most keywords gave back less than 20 papers of which only few were appropriate fit for the study. Thankfully my fellow research assistant intern was helpful and gave me some creative ways to look for literature. Another challenge is narrowing down, finding how much is enough and to understand the use of grey literature. The use of grey literature (wood industry) for the study is needed as mentioned by my supervisor to understand the cascading systems can be analysed in practice, tracking product flows across multiple uses.

The methodology for my study is critical literature review, where different strands of literature (CBM, Cascading, CE indicators and lifecycle assessment) are analysed through the lens of the four core principles of cascading. At this stage, the work is still in progress and the next step is to continue this analysis and begin structuring the key dimensions that will support the development of KPI's.

Overall the first month has been focused on the key concepts, theoretical grounding and establishing analytical direction. It has been a lot of reading once the challenge of finding literature was conquered. The next week will be more reading and I am following my supervisors guidance in this regard as he suggested to start writing only after reading and structuring the literature in detail. 

Sangavi Vetrivel 

Blog post 1 on comparing CAD/CAM software for textile design

 A month has gone by and during that month it has been a lot of reading articles. Much more than I originally thought. My planning report is basically out the window at this stage.

But this reading has been very interesting, I've looked into other research doing silimar studies but in other fields or software and by doing so I have learnt some new methodology that can be used for decision making and comparisons. 

Brzozowski and Birfer (2017) lists in their article the different and most popular Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) that are used for comparing ERP systems, which feels like it could be applyed on other software comparisons as well. They do mention the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as the top one with Fuzzy AHP as the second, which is what my literature study has also shown to be the case. Even though I have run into Fuzzy AHP more than plain AHP. Good thing I like math... Also, please do not make me say those names out loud in the presentations because there's no way I'll be able to pronounce them correctly and I am sorry in advanve for butchering them.

AHP then, is a structured method for making complex decisions by breaking them down into smaller, more manageble parts. It works in four stages;

1. Structuring the problem as a hierarchy for comparison, including the goal for the decision, the criteria and the subcriteria and the options that are to be compared.

2. Compare each criteria pairwise by asking if criterion A is more important than criterion B and if so then by how much on a scale of 1 to 9 where 1 is equally important and 9 is extremly more important.

3. Calculate the comparisons into numerical weigths

4. Eacxh alternative is scored against the criteria which shows the best option.

Fuzzy AHP includes for the indecision that may accompany the comparison, that is that if you choose 3, you might mean 2, 3 or 4 and include these as a fuzzy numerical set to be counted with instead. 

Basically it's a lot of math. And possibly a questionnaire in order to get more reliable weights for each criteria. 

Well, that's it for now. Back to reading, writing and figuring out criteria!

Blog #1 - Internship at the Swedish EPA

 

Over the past weeks, I have started my internship at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, working within the Department for a Resource Efficient Society. This experience has given me an interesting introduction to how sustainability work is carried out on a national level, as well as within a broader European and international context.

The Swedish EPA works on behalf of the Swedish government, but also plays an important role within the EU and in international environmental cooperation. The agency leads and coordinates environmental efforts in Sweden and is organised into different departments. I am part of the Department for a Resource Efficient Society, which focuses on the transition to a circular economy and reducing environmental impact.

So far, I have had the opportunity to participate in various meetings, dialogues, and conferences. One thing that has stood out to me is how much collaboration is involved. Many discussions include stakeholders from different sectors, which highlights how complex and interconnected sustainability challenges are. It is not just about environmental issues in isolation, but also about balancing economic and social perspectives.

I am also beginning to understand more about how EU regulations are implemented in practice, and how they influence national policies and decision-making. This has helped me connect theoretical knowledge from my studies to real-world processes.

At this stage, I am mostly observing and learning, but it already feels valuable to see how policies and strategies are shaped. I am looking forward to becoming more involved in ongoing projects and contributing more actively in the coming weeks.

Internship at an online fashion store, 1/3

I’m doing my internship at a smaller online fashion store based in Gothenburg that resells premium brands such as Malina, Gant, Barbour, and Busnel. I have now completed my first weeks and I have already gained valuable insights into several areas of the company. Mainly these weeks have been about getting familiar with the daily operations, such as warehouse tasks involving packing orders, putting new products in their system, and marketing.One of the most interesting parts so far has been participating in buying meetings with other brands. Here, I have observed how decisions are made regarding which product to buy from up-coming collections. 

What I noticed was how strongly these decisions are guided by the target customers. Rather than simply following trends, there is a clear focus on selecting pieces that fit the brand’s identity and what they believe their customers will actually buy. They have a more mature customer which has different needs/preferences when looking for clothes than someone my age that is around 25. This made me think more of how important it is to balance intuition, experience, knowing your customer, and market awareness in buying decisions.

I have also been adding new products into the company’s system, including writing product descriptions. Writing product descriptions made me aware of how important it is to be very detailed about how a garment feel, look, and function, as it is the only source of knowledge about the product. The way a product is described may influence how it is perceived and give somewhat an idea of how it looks in real life since the customers can’t try it before they buy it.

Another area I have been working with is content creation for their social media. Here, I noticed that marketing decisions are closely connected to inventory. For example, it is important not to promote products that are low in stock since then the customer can’t buy what is marketed. But also promote products that are high in stock and that haven’t sold as much. This made me reflect on how different parts of the business such as marketing and logistics, are highly interconnected and need to be aligned.

These first weeks have given me a broader understanding of how a premium fashion retailer operates, and I am looking forward to continuing exploring how these different elements come together. I have already noticed how different functions within the company influence each other. From buying and product presentation to marketing and communication, everything plays a role in shaping the overall customer experience.