For waste’s sake: Stakeholder mapping of circular economy approaches to address the growing issue of clothing textile waste

Abstract

By now, it is well established that the fashion industry faces several social and environmental sustainability issues, including the growing problem of clothing textile waste. In recent years, the concept of circular economy (CE) has been put forth as a solution to drive the industry towards a more sustainable future, including as a strategy to reduce clothing textile waste. However, currently there is a gap in our understanding of how circular approaches are enacted by different stakeholders and if/how stakeholders are working together, especially when it comes to post-consumer clothing textile waste. To remedy this gap, this conceptual article draws on a wide range of secondary resources to propose a conceptual framework based on stakeholder mapping. The framework aims to help understand who is responsible for post-consumer textile waste and how they interact and work together, driven by three key questions: where do responsibility(ies) lie in addressing the growing challenge of textile waste, what actions are currently being taken across supply chains and stakeholders to address textile waste and what are the opportunities and challenges in conceptualizing CE practices through a stakeholder mapping approach? In exploring actions across four key stakeholder groups (policy-makers, fashion industry, clothing textile recyclers and actors from the not-for-profit sector), the need for engagement and collaboration across stakeholders, investment in recycling technology and infrastructure, and policy leadership are identified as key challenges facing the industry as it seeks to redress social and environmental challenges.