Garments for Gen-Z | Hanesbrands Inc

Hanesbrands Inc | Garments for Gen-Z Hyun Jae Cho, Alex Obiol, Jasmine Rouse, and Mayuri Senthilnathan

Generation Z is the largest population in the United States. Hanesbrands Inc. enlisted our senior design team to create a product or branding strategy to appeal to this growing generation and their needs. To do this, we focused on consumer trends and market research to identify what exactly Generation Z consumers were looking for in their apparel. From this research, we identified six key concepts: health, internet, social responsibility, individuality, technology, and monety. With these concepts in mind, our team ideated on product lines that would align with the needs and desires of Generation Z and Hanesbrands.

The result of this ideation was four final concepts: an eSports gaming glove, and LED light wearable hoodie, a social responsibility themed t-shirt, and aromatherapy scented garments. To validate that our ideas aligned with Generation Z and to select a final idea, we held a pop-up booth in Wolfpack Outfitters showcasing prototypes of each Imageof the four ideas. Students passing by were given the opportunity to fill out a survey on each of the concepts. We used JMP statistical software to analyze the data we collected from the pop-up. Ultimately, the aromatherapy garment garnered the most excitement and became our final selection. Next, we began to investigate the design for an aromatherapy garment. The design for the garment has to be Imagefunctional, unique, and practical in order to generate excitement and buying power for Hanesbrands. To satisfy these needs, we chose to move forward with a hoodie with a two-layer, essential oil-infusing drawstring at the hood. Essential oil can be deposited at the aglet of the hoodie string. Then, the oil would diffuse upward to the inner layer of the string while the outer layer would contain the oil. To Imagevalidate this idea, we needed to check its overall feasibility in use and in the Hanesbrands supply chain. Through collaboration with Hanesbrands, we were able to learn more about the supply chain of their current hoodies and analyzed the placement of our own hoodie string in that chain.