Understanding circular economy transitions: The case of circular textiles

Denise Reike; Marko P. Hekkert; Simona O. Negro

doi:10.1002/bse.3114

Understanding circular economy transitions: The case of circular textiles

Denise Reike^*
, Marko P. Hekkert
, Simona O. Negro

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The circular economy has been proposed to transform global textile supply chains which are currently challenged by a complex nexus of sustainability issues related to the dominant fast fashion trend. Research on circular economy in the textile sector often focuses on businesses or consumers as key enablers in circular transitions, yet it treats them as independent entities and thereby neglects the study of interactions that can provide insight at the systems level. The proclaimed “circular textile mission” in the Netherlands setting a national target for 100% circularity by 2050 is used as case study to address this research gap. We explore the circular textile transition processes found in the context of the Dutch mission and compare the development and interactions among various technical and non-technological solutions produced by engaged actor constellations for assessing key factors driving and blocking the overall mission fulfilment. To these ends, we derive a theoretical framework based on innovation system theory and conceptualize the Dutch circular textile transition as a Mission-oriented Innovation System (MIS). Analyzing the structure and functioning of the Dutch mission-oriented innovation system, we show that (1) there is a good match between the formal Dutch circular textile mission and system actor perceptions; (2) system actors have formed structures around three dominant solution trajectories in the Dutch system: secondhand, mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling; (3) these trajectories expose distinct key virtuous and vicious cycles, which characterize (4) the entire system as formative. Overall, the secondhand trajectory shows most developed structures and most positive dynamics, chemical recycling carries most technological breakthrough potential, whereas mechanical recycling is a mature technology but lacks market demand and supply. We compare the three solution trajectories, discuss the disruptive nature of the Dutch circular textile transition, and suggest installing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a potential intervention for accelerating system transformation. The study concludes with reflections on the case learnings and considerations for further research on mission-oriented innovation systems.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1032-1058
Number of pages	27
Journal	Business Strategy and the Environment
Volume	32
Issue number	3
Early online date	8 Jul 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3114
Publication status	Published - Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to express a special thanks to our committed project research assistants Djanah M. Radjibaly Mamodoussen Alibay, Paul Koster, Shari Lorang—you are why the UU motto of “Bright minds, better future” has meaning; we are also very grateful to Anne Rainville for her research work in the project and the extensive support with language edits, Rien van Leeuwen for conducting the survey with us, Britta Ricker for support with GIS mapping, Simon Besnard for a PYTHON evening, and to Frans de Liagre Böhl for warp speed help with data storage—the world needs more of your kind who give without expecting to take. We also thank Hanneke op den Brouw from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for help with workshop organization and interviewee contacts (many thanks to the kind interviewees) —with more of you, the system would have all the guidance.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Business Strategy and The Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Funding

The authors would like to thank The Ohio State University for confirming identification of our speci mens. The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments and criticisms which greatly improved this paper. This study was partially funded by a grant from the Ship - pensburg University Foundation’s Undergraduate Research Program.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Keywords

circular disruption
circular economy mission
circular economy transition
circular fashion
circular textile
circular textile transition
mission-oriented innovation system

Access to Document

10.1002/bse.3114Licence: CC BY

Bus Strat Env - 2022 - Reike - Understanding circular economy transitions The case of circular textilesFinal published version, 2.07 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Understanding circular economy transitions: The case of circular textiles",

abstract = "The circular economy has been proposed to transform global textile supply chains which are currently challenged by a complex nexus of sustainability issues related to the dominant fast fashion trend. Research on circular economy in the textile sector often focuses on businesses or consumers as key enablers in circular transitions, yet it treats them as independent entities and thereby neglects the study of interactions that can provide insight at the systems level. The proclaimed “circular textile mission” in the Netherlands setting a national target for 100\% circularity by 2050 is used as case study to address this research gap. We explore the circular textile transition processes found in the context of the Dutch mission and compare the development and interactions among various technical and non-technological solutions produced by engaged actor constellations for assessing key factors driving and blocking the overall mission fulfilment. To these ends, we derive a theoretical framework based on innovation system theory and conceptualize the Dutch circular textile transition as a Mission-oriented Innovation System (MIS). Analyzing the structure and functioning of the Dutch mission-oriented innovation system, we show that (1) there is a good match between the formal Dutch circular textile mission and system actor perceptions; (2) system actors have formed structures around three dominant solution trajectories in the Dutch system: secondhand, mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling; (3) these trajectories expose distinct key virtuous and vicious cycles, which characterize (4) the entire system as formative. Overall, the secondhand trajectory shows most developed structures and most positive dynamics, chemical recycling carries most technological breakthrough potential, whereas mechanical recycling is a mature technology but lacks market demand and supply. We compare the three solution trajectories, discuss the disruptive nature of the Dutch circular textile transition, and suggest installing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a potential intervention for accelerating system transformation. The study concludes with reflections on the case learnings and considerations for further research on mission-oriented innovation systems.",

keywords = "circular disruption, circular economy mission, circular economy transition, circular fashion, circular textile, circular textile transition, mission-oriented innovation system",

author = "Denise Reike and Hekkert, \{Marko P.\} and Negro, \{Simona O.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We would like to express a special thanks to our committed project research assistants Djanah M. Radjibaly Mamodoussen Alibay, Paul Koster, Shari Lorang—you are why the UU motto of “Bright minds, better future” has meaning; we are also very grateful to Anne Rainville for her research work in the project and the extensive support with language edits, Rien van Leeuwen for conducting the survey with us, Britta Ricker for support with GIS mapping, Simon Besnard for a PYTHON evening, and to Frans de Liagre B{\"o}hl for warp speed help with data storage—the world needs more of your kind who give without expecting to take. We also thank Hanneke op den Brouw from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for help with workshop organization and interviewee contacts (many thanks to the kind interviewees) —with more of you, the system would have all the guidance. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors. Business Strategy and The Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley \& Sons Ltd.",

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N2 - The circular economy has been proposed to transform global textile supply chains which are currently challenged by a complex nexus of sustainability issues related to the dominant fast fashion trend. Research on circular economy in the textile sector often focuses on businesses or consumers as key enablers in circular transitions, yet it treats them as independent entities and thereby neglects the study of interactions that can provide insight at the systems level. The proclaimed “circular textile mission” in the Netherlands setting a national target for 100% circularity by 2050 is used as case study to address this research gap. We explore the circular textile transition processes found in the context of the Dutch mission and compare the development and interactions among various technical and non-technological solutions produced by engaged actor constellations for assessing key factors driving and blocking the overall mission fulfilment. To these ends, we derive a theoretical framework based on innovation system theory and conceptualize the Dutch circular textile transition as a Mission-oriented Innovation System (MIS). Analyzing the structure and functioning of the Dutch mission-oriented innovation system, we show that (1) there is a good match between the formal Dutch circular textile mission and system actor perceptions; (2) system actors have formed structures around three dominant solution trajectories in the Dutch system: secondhand, mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling; (3) these trajectories expose distinct key virtuous and vicious cycles, which characterize (4) the entire system as formative. Overall, the secondhand trajectory shows most developed structures and most positive dynamics, chemical recycling carries most technological breakthrough potential, whereas mechanical recycling is a mature technology but lacks market demand and supply. We compare the three solution trajectories, discuss the disruptive nature of the Dutch circular textile transition, and suggest installing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a potential intervention for accelerating system transformation. The study concludes with reflections on the case learnings and considerations for further research on mission-oriented innovation systems.

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Understanding circular economy transitions: The case of circular textiles

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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