ABSTRACT
The major purpose of this study was to investigate the Utilization of Nigerian fabrics for garment making among Academic and Non-Academic female staff in Enugu State.The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The study was carried out using Academic and Non Academic female Staff in government tertiary institutions in Enugu State. Six research questions were developed and answered by the study; and five hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study was fourteen thousand, eight hundred and forty one (14,841)female academic and non academic staff of government tertiary institutions in Enugu state. A sample of 494 respondents was drawn from the population using purposive and proportionate 5% sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire divided into two sections (A and B). Section A contained questions to elicit information on personal data of the respondents while Section B was developed based on the six research questions. The instrument had a four point rating scale of Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The instrument was subjected to face-validation by three experts from the Department of Home Economics and Hospitality Management Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. To establish the reliability of the instrument, thirty (30) copies of questionnaire were trial tested on thirty (30) female workers in Abuja. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to establish the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded reliability coefficient of 0.82.The researcher administered and collected instrument with the help of three trained research assistants. Four hundred and ninety four (494) copies of the questionnaire were returned duly completed and formed the basis of analysis. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions that guided the study while t – test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that seven factors guided Academic and Non Academic female staff in selection and utilization of fabrics/garment, four garment styles were utilized by Academic and Non Academic female staff using Nigerian Fabrics and five different occasions where Nigerian fabrics were utilized. The findings of the study also showed six factors affecting utilization of garment made with Nigerian fabrics. The tested hypotheses showed that academic and non-academic Academic and Non Academic female staff differed significantly (p0.05) in their responses on the factors affecting utilization of garment made with Nigerian fabrics. It was recommended among others that Tailors and clothing manufacturers should shift from custom made garment to mass produced, quality ready to wear garments. Government should enforce laws intended to reduce the importation of foreign garments and also encourage tailors and fabrics/clothing manufacturers through granting of loans, provision of appropriate machinery, training of staff to mass produce fabrics and garments made from them.