scholarly journals Making Resilient Decisions for Sustainable Circularity of Fashion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celinda Palm ◽  
Sarah E. Cornell ◽  
Tiina Häyhä
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
State Response ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Industry Value Chain ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

AbstractThe fashion and textiles industry, and policymakers at all levels, are showing an increased interest in the concept of circular economy as a way to decrease business risks and negative environmental impacts. However, focus is placed mainly on the material ‘stuff’ of textile fashion and its biophysical harms. The current material focus has several shortcomings, because fashion is a social-ecological system and cannot be understood merely by addressing its environmental dimensions. In this paper, we rethink the fashion system from a critical social-ecological perspective. The driver-state-response framework shows social drivers and ecological impacts as an adaptive social-ecological system, exposing how these interacting aspects need to be addressed for sustainable and resilient implementation of circular economy. We show how current responses to global sustainability challenges have so far fallen short. Our overall aim is to expand possibilities for reframing responses that better reflect the complex links between the global fashion system, culture and creativity and the dynamics of the living planet. We argue that reducing planetary pressure from the global fashion and textiles industry requires greater recognition of the system’s social drivers with more emphasis on the many cross-scale links between social and ecological dimensions. Resilient decisions aiming for sustainable circularity of the fashion industry must therefore pay attention to social activities beyond the industry value chain, not just material flows within it.

Characteristic and Analystic Framework of Vulnerability of Social Ecological System of Lake Basin

2014 ◽  
Vol 955-959 ◽  
pp. 1622-1625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong Yuan Yu
Keyword(s):  
Ecological System ◽  
Evaluation Index System ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Pressure Sensitivity ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
State Response ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Driver Analysis ◽  
And Function ◽  
Hierarchy Process

This paper elaborates the structure succession, hierarchical charicteristic and function of lake basin social ecological system (SES),combining “Pressure-State-Response”(PSR) with “Exposure-Resilience-Adaptability” model,based on “Analytic Hierarchy Process” (AHP) for driver analysis, from risk (pressure), sensitivity, adaptability builds the analytical framwork of social ecological system vulnerability. The results show that lake basin social ecological system is a complicated giant system, which contains several subsystem and there exists the cross-scale association in structure and process among systems with different scales .The structure of lake basinis in constant succession, and different stage of which has different function structure and cross-scale interaction. Resilience, adaptability, transformability of lake basin social ecological system are the result of the interaction of pressure on the system and their sensitivity to it. The evaluation index system could consist of three element layers: risk (pressure), sensitivity, adaptability, the interaction among whch decide the vulnerabilities of the whole social and ecological system.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY: INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY

2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-28
Author(s):  
Olga Garafonova ◽  
◽  
Daria Vietrova ◽  
Olha Marhasova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Radical Innovations ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
New Business ◽  
Sustainable Fashion ◽  
The Many ◽  
Key Aspects

Promoting sustainable fashion within the circular economy is an important contemporary topic. Experts in design, consumption, business and industry explain how to approach circularity in fashion production and consumption in different ways. Increasingly, new and existing companies are looking for ways to thrive in a competitive environment through innovative business models, taking into account public opinion and avoiding actions that harm the planet. Trends such as the circular economy, fair trade, and sharing policies are among the many new approaches to business that address these issues, but there is still a gap between the theory that argues for levels of environmental and social sustainability and the implementation of these strategies in practice. That is why the study of the current state of the circular economy is relevant. This article presents the principles of the circular economy in terms of fashion. The key aspects of the integration of sustainable development in the fashion industry are considered. Different approaches of new business models for the circularity of the economy are highlighted. The main directions of implementation of sustainability strategies due to business transformation are identified, which requires the construction of a new level of the system and radical innovations.

Rethinking luxury brands and sustainable fashion business models in a risk society

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Posi Olatubosun ◽  
Erica Charles ◽  
Tolulope Omoyele
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Sustainable Fashion

This exploratory work investigates the burgeoning integration of ‘cradle to cradle’ practices into primary strategic activities of procurement, production and sales by ten London based fashion businesses, analysing how profits are derived from offsetting the high costs of sustainable inputs against savings from innovative strategic choices in the production value chain. This research was influenced by the background knowledge that in the global fashion industry, less than 1 per cent of the recycled textiles are converted into new wearable materials, and even more of these textiles end up in landfills. However, this unsustainable tradition in the fashion industry may gradually give way to a mainstream circular economic best practice in the fashion industry, even as the Mckinsey Report found that sustainability will be a significant factor for consumer purchasing mass market apparels by 2025. Based on the semi-structured interview of the ten fashion business owners and the analyses of internal strategic policy documents including budgets, we adopted Garret Hardin’s ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ and Ulrich Beck’s risk society as the lens view through which the qualitative data derived from these fashion businesses were discussed in order to bring out the illustrative extracts and sub-themes. Through the application of interpretive methodological approach, we were able to generate the themes suggesting the ‘Becksian’ reflexive modernization and dis-embedding mechanisms in analysing the issue of trust in luxury fashion environment. We were able to demonstrate the multidisciplinary and multifaceted nature of the use of modern technology in achieving a closed-loop circular economy in luxury fashion business(es) and its interconnectedness within the concentric layers of the value-chain, which is part of the economy, which is in turn a subset of the society and the environment. As businesses are expected to adapt their strategies to the changing environment, we argue that dematerialization in fashion is still at its infancy, and some deliberate actions on the part of economic policy-makers may be required in due course as this is connected to social sustainability amongst others. This article contributes new empirical data to the understanding of luxury fashion business in a circular economy, which is a departure from the linear economy with its attendant externalities. The adoption of a sustainable fashion business model may be pivotal to combating the inefficiency costs built into the fashion industry, and if successful, may be replicated in other jurisdictions in due course.

One Big Social‒Ecological System

2021 ◽  
pp. 290-302
Author(s):  
William H. Durham
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Joint Product ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
System P ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
Contemporary Climate

Galápagos is no longer the “little world within itself” that Darwin visited: it is now one big social‒ecological system (SES): the evolutionary fitnesses of all, or nearly all, Galápagos organisms are today a joint product of natural conditions and human activity. But this also makes Galápagos an effective microcosm. At first glance, the place seems totally unique: it is small and isolated, its habitats are extreme, its wildlife is peculiar, and its initially tiny human population is diverse and growing rapidly. But on a larger scale, are those not all true about Earth itself? The small size and isolation of Galápagos may exacerbate some threats and challenges, its position in the heartland of El Niño may exaggerate the swings and changes of contemporary climate, and its land area for human use is close to a record low (3%, although human impact reaches to every corner of the archipelago), but these conditions make both problems and solutions show up faster in Galápagos than elsewhere. Galápagos is now a valuable test bed for the sustainability challenges facing the whole of planet Earth.

The anatomy of circular economy transition in the fashion industry

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sita Mishra ◽  
Sheetal Jain ◽  
Gunjan Malhotra
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Unsustainable fashion consumption and wasteful practices have recently garnered attention in practice and academia; however, research in this field is limited. This study is based upon an extensive review of the literature and aims to fill this gap by providing an in-depth understanding of various drivers and actors operating in the closed-loop fashion value chain. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework of transformation from the linear economy (LE) to the circular economy (CE) for the fashion industry based on “transition theory.” Design/methodology/approach This study is conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, a bibliographic compilation on the given subject is done. In Phase 2, data about the case company is collected through trade media and semi-structured interviews with the founder and the designers. Findings The study found that key drivers for the closed-loop fashion value chain are collaboration with partners, innovation, waste management system, customer connect and changing utilization patterns. Based on the extensive literature review and analysis of the case study, it can be concluded that to incorporate CE principles, namely, reduce, repair, reuse and recycle into current business models, redefining existing value propositions and transforming various business model elements is essential. Practical implications A three-level (discrete level, aggregator level and the peripheral level) framework is developed that can help the fashion industry in transition from LE to CE. This study will help fashion houses to understand how they can work in tandem with various stakeholders to develop sustainable business models. Originality/value This paper contributes to research by advancing the understanding of how to further develop and redesign an innovative business model framework for the circular fashion value chain. A three-level framework is developed that can be used for transition from LE to CE, especially in the fashion industry. This study is one of the first research that has tried to analyze the Indian case company for CE practices in fashion.

scholarly journals Ecosystem Services Assessment for the Conservation of Mangroves in French Guiana Using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Scemama ◽  
Esther Regnier ◽  
Fabian Blanchard ◽  
Olivier Thébaud
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Mangrove Ecosystems ◽  
The Many ◽  
Perceived Constraints

In 2016, the French government adopted a law for biodiversity, setting an objective of protecting 55,000 hectares of mangroves. This objective is particularly important to French Guiana, which shelters almost 60% of French mangrove ecosystems, and where mangroves occupy three quarters of the coastline. The coast of French Guiana is also where issues associated with demographic and economic dynamics concentrate. There is thus a need to plan for an economic development that is compatible with the objective of protecting mangrove ecosystems. Ecosystem services (ES) assessment can support such decision-making, informing on the costs and benefits associated with alternative mangrove conservation strategies. While the many services provided by mangrove ecosystems are well documented worldwide, the extent to which these can be encountered in the specific case of French Guiana is currently only very partially known. Relying on the Fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) approach, we collected and compared the perception of multiple and heterogeneous groups of stakeholders, of the functioning of the mangrove social-ecological system at the scale of French Guiana. Results, allow to identify mangroves ES and threats particularly influenced by the high sedimentary dynamism of the shoreline. This generates two distinct components of the mangrove social-ecological system: mud banks where ecosystem services are spatially and temporally unstable, and associated with perceived constraints for key coastal activities, and estuarine mangroves where the ecosystem services usually described in the literature on mangroves can be found. Disservices associated with mangrove ecosystems were also identified as a key interaction. This can inform the research needs that should support sustainable development trajectories, fully accounting for the protection of French Guianese mangrove ecosystems.

scholarly journals Scenario Analysis for Selecting Sewage Sludge-to-Energy/Matter Recovery Processes

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 276
Author(s):  
Francesco Facchini ◽  
Giovanni Mummolo ◽  
Micaela Vitti
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Solid Material ◽  
Sludge Treatment ◽  
Sewage Sludges ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Sewage Sludge Treatment ◽  
New Perspective

The sewage sludges are the byproducts of the wastewater treatment. The new perspective of the wastewater value chain points to a sustainable circular economy approach, where the residual solid material produced by sewage sludge treatments is a resource rather than a waste. A sewage sludge treatment system consists of five main phases; each of them can be performed by different alternative processes. Each process is characterized by its capability to recover energy and/or matter. In this paper, a state of the art of the sludge-to-energy and sludge-to-matter treatments is provided. Then, a scenario analysis is developed to identify suitable sewage sludge treatments plants that best fit the quality and flowrate of sewage sludge to be processed while meeting technological and economic constraints. Based on the scientific literature findings and experts’ opinions, the authors identify a set of reference initial scenarios and the corresponding best treatments’ selection for configuring sewage sludge treatment plants. The scenario analysis reveals a useful reference technical framework when circular economy goals are pursued. The results achieved in all scenarios ensure the potential recovery of matter and/or energy from sewage sludges processes.

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