What is SWOT Analysis? | A brief Description of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats | Advantages of SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis means a planning method which is used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. It is the most renowned tool for audit and analysis of the overall strategic position of the business and its environment. Its key purpose is to identify the strategies that will create a firm specific business model that will best align an organization’s resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which the firm operates.

A brief description of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats is given below-

Strengths

Strengths are the qualities that enable us to accomplish the organization’s mission. These are the basis on which continued success can be made and continued/sustained. Strengths can be either tangible or intangible. These are what you are well-versed in or what you have expertise in, the traits and qualities your employees possess (individually and as a team) and the distinct features that give your organization its consistency. Strengths are the beneficial aspects of the organization or the capabilities of an organization, which includes human competencies, process capabilities, financial resources, products and services, customer goodwill and brand loyalty. Examples of organizational strengths are huge financial resources, broad product line, no debt, committed employees, etc.

A Swot Analysis Strength could be:

• Your specialist marketing expertise.
• A new, innovative product or service.
• Location of your business.
• Quality processes and procedures.
• Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses are the qualities that prevent us from accomplishing our mission and achieving our full potential. These weaknesses deteriorate influences on the organizational success and growth. Weaknesses are the factors which do not meet the standards we feel they should meet. Weaknesses in an organization may be depreciating machinery, insufficient research and development facilities, narrow product range, poor decision-making, etc. Weaknesses are controllable. They must be minimized and eliminated. For instance - to overcome obsolete machinery, new machinery can be purchased. Other examples of organizational weaknesses are huge debts, high employee turnover, complex decision making process, narrow product range, large wastage of raw materials, etc.

A Swot Analysis Weaknesses Could be:

• Lack of marketing expertise.
• Undifferentiated products or services (i.e. in relation to your competitors).
• Location of your business.
• Poor quality goods or services. 
• Damaged reputation.

Opportunities

Opportunities are presented by the environment within which our organization operates. These arise when an organization can take benefit of conditions in its environment to plan and execute strategies that enable it to become more profitable. Organizations can gain competitive advantage by making use of opportunities. Organization should be careful and recognize the opportunities and grasp them whenever they arise. Selecting the targets that will best serve the clients while getting desired results is a difficult task. Opportunities may arise from market, competition, industry/government and technology. Increasing demand for telecommunications accompanied by deregulation is a great opportunity for new firms to enter telecom sector and compete with existing firms for revenue.

A Swot Analysis Opportunity could be:

• A developing market such as the Internet.
• Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances.
• Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits.
• A new international market.
• A market vacated by an ineffective competitor.

Threats

Threats arise when conditions in external environment jeopardize the reliability and profitability of the organization’s business. They compound the vulnerability when they relate to the weaknesses. Threats are uncontrollable. When a threat comes, the stability and survival can be at stake. Examples of threats are - unrest among employees; ever changing technology; increasing competition leading to excess capacity, price wars and reducing industry profits; etc.

A Swot Analysis Threat Could be:

• A new competitor in your home market.
• Price wars with competitors.
• A competitor has a new, innovative product or service.
• Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution.
• Taxation is introduced on your product or service.

A word of caution, SWOT analysis can be very subjective. Do not rely on SWOT too much. Two people rarely come-up with the same final version of SWOT. TOWS analysis is extremely similar. It simply looks at the negative factors first in order to turn them into positive factors. So use SWOT as guide and not a prescription.

Advantages of SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis helps in strategic planning in following manner:

• It is a source of information for strategic planning.
• Builds organization’s strengths.
• Reverse its weaknesses.
• Maximize its response to opportunities.
• Overcome organization’s threats.
• It helps in identifying core competencies of the firm.
• It helps in setting of objectives for strategic planning.
• It helps in knowing past, present and future so that by using past and current data, future plans can be chalked out.

Textile Recycling | Importance of Textile Recycling | Textile RecyclingProcess

Recycling is a processing which is used waste into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials. Textile recycling is the method of reusing or reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and clothing scraps from the manufacturing process. Textiles in municipal solid waste are found mainly in discarded clothing, although other sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and nondurable goods such as sheets and towels.

Importance of Textile Recycling
Textile recycling is for both, environmental and economic benefits. It avoids many polluting and energy intensive processes that are used to make textiles from fresh materials.

1. Demand is reduced for textile chemicals like dyes and fixing agents.
2. The requirement of landfill space is reduced. Textiles lead to many problems in landfill. Synthetic fibers don’t decompose. Woolen garments do decompose but produce methane, which contributes to global warming. 
3. Leads to balance of payments as we buy fewer materials for our requirements.
4. As fibers get locally available, they don’t have to be transported from abroad thus reducing pollution and saving energy.
5. Lesser energy is consumed while processing, as items don’t need to be re-dyed or scoured.
6. Waste water reduces as it does not have to be thoroughly washed with large volumes of water as it is done for, say, raw wool.
7. Pressure on fresh resources too is reduced.

Which recycling are done in Textile

1. Used Clothing
2. Used Footwear
3. Leather Recycling
4. Textile Recycling Employment
5. Other Textile Waste
6. Cotton Recycling
7. Wool Recycling
8. Burlap, Jute and Sisal Recycling
9. Polyurethane Foam Recycling
10. Polyester and Polyester Fiber Recycling
11. Nylon and Nylon Fiber Recycling
12. Other Synthetic Fiber Recycling
13. Carpet Recycling
14. Rags and Wipers
15. Used and Recycled Bags

Textile Recycling Process

Textile Clothing and fabric generally consists of composites of cotton (biodegradable material) and synthetic plastics. The textiles composition will affect its durability and method of recycling.

All collected textiles are sorted and graded at a “Rag House” by highly skilled, experienced workers, who are able to recognize the large variety of fiber types resulting from the introduction of synthetics and blended fiber fabrics. Once sorted the items are sent to various destinations as outlined.

Fiber reclamation mills grade incoming material into type and color. The color sorting means no re-dying has to take place, saving energy and pollutants. The textiles are shredded into shoddy fibers and blended with other selected fibers, depending on the intended end use of the recycled yarn. The blended mixture is carded to clean and mix the fibers and spun ready for weaving or knitting. The fibers can also be compressed for mattress production. Textiles sent to the flocking industry are shredded to make filling material for car insulation, roofing felts, loudspeaker cones, panel linings and furniture padding.

For specialized polyester based materials the recycling process is significantly different. The first step is to remove the buttons and zippers then to cut the garments into small pieces. The shredded fabric is then granulated and formed into small pellets. The pellets are broken down polymerized and turned into polyester chips. The chips are melted and spun into new filament fiber used to make new polyester fabrics.

Some companies are creating new pieces of clothing from scraps of old clothes. By combining and making new additions, the eclectic garments are marketed as a type of style.