A Sustainable Production Inventory Model for Pottery Production: Reducing Plastic Usage in Tea Stalls

• Published in: International journal of applied and computational mathematics Vol. 11; no. 3
• Main Authors: Das, Prabal, Sen, Nabendu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01.06.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applications of Mathematics; Ceramics; Computational Science and Engineering; Emissions; Genetic algorithms; Investments; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Mathematical Modeling and Industrial Mathematics; Mathematical models; Mathematics; Mathematics and Statistics; Nuclear Energy; Operations Research/Decision Theory; Optimization; Original Paper; Pottery; Profitability; Sensitivity analysis; Sustainability; Theoretical; Green investment; Plastic waste reduction; Pottery production; Environmental sustainability; Genetic algorithm; Sustainable inventory model
• ISSN: 2349-5103; 2199-5796
• DOI: 10.1007/s40819-025-01894-x

This study develops a sustainable economic production quantity model tailored for the pottery industry to address the critical environmental challenge of reducing plastic usage in tea stalls. The model optimizes decision variables such as advertisement frequency, selling price, production rate, green investment, and cycle length, aiming to balance profitability and sustainability. A genetic algorithm is employed to efficiently solve the nonlinear optimization problem, maximizing profit while minimizing environmental impact. The results indicate that the proposed model can replace up to 40% of plastic cups in tea stalls through optimal reuse strategies at higher production rates. Additionally, green investments achieve an 85.7% reduction in carbon emissions, highlighting the economic and environmental benefits of sustainability-driven practices. Sensitivity analysis confirms the model’s robustness, demonstrating how green investments and reuse strategies positively influence profitability and sustainability. This research offers a practical framework for integrating eco-friendly practices into small-scale pottery production, providing actionable insights for balancing industrial operations with environmental responsibility.