| dc.description.abstract | This research examines the circular practices adopted by circular Start-Ups (SUs) in the textile industry based on their local legislative context. The textile industry is one of the most ecologically damaging industries in the world due to its wide supply chain that entails many energy-intensive and polluting processes. This is specifically true for established companies that have been carrying out a linear model in their production system. Signs of improvement have been noticed on a smaller scale, for instance in SUs that have introduced circular practices in their core system from the outset of their businesses. However, few studies have been conducted on integrating the performance of circular SUs in the textile industry based on their local legislative context. Legislative context has a significant role in shaping decisions as proper legislation and policies are essential factors for moving towards circularity, but it is often perceived as a barrier for entrepreneurs to move forwards.
To carry out this research, this study investigates the practices and regulatory context of six companies, located in two different countries. The investigation process was based on a framework specifically created for this research aiming at pointing out the circular strategies, practices and barriers of each company. Therefore, the analysis entailed desk research to understand the current local regulatory context; interviews to gain insights into companies’ activities and the perceived barriers from their regulatory context; MFAs to have an overview of the production process of the selected companies and identify waste sources; each company was framed into a Business Model (BM) described in Coscieme et al., (2022) to integrate previous findings on opponent factors dependent on a specific BM.
Results show that practices leading to waste reduction, textile reuse and resale, and garments lifespan extension are the most common, although they present some limitations still. Results also demonstrate that the obstacles emerging from their coercive context are mostly due to poor involvement in easing the path towards circularity and to a lack of sufficient investments, but differently stressed in the two countries.
Overall, circular SUs could improve their practices by introducing innovative technical and managerial features. More investments and a systematic vision applied to the textile industry at the regulatory level could help in easing the process. | |
