Open this publication in new window or tab >>2025 (English)In: Sustainable Production and Consumption, ISSN 2352-5509, Vol. 56, p. 579-592Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The Textile and Clothing (T&C) industry is increasingly adopting circular business models (CBMs) to promotesustainable production and consumption. However, scaling CBMs within this sector remains challenging, mainlydue to conflicts in organizational objectives, product designs, and value chain structures, resulting in paradoxicaltensions (PTs). The purpose of this study is to explore PTs that hinder the scaling of CBMs in the T&C industry.The methodology adopted a two-stage approach: first, through a critical literature review, seven key PT categoriesaffecting CBM scaling were identified, and secondly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with T&Cindustry actors for in-depth exploration. By applying paradox theory, this study revealed that PTs are moreprevalent at the product and process levels. At the product level, PTs impacted scaling CBMs both within innerloops (repair and reuse) and outer loops (recycling), driven by socio-environmental and economic conflicts,classified as performing paradoxes. Scaling recycling is hindered due to trade-offs in technology selection forhigher market uptake, lack of infrastructure, and challenges in choosing between local and global value chains,classified as organizing PTs. Our findings emphasize the importance of inter-class organizing-performing paradoxes,which obstruct the scaling of sequential loops like reuse-recycling. Furthermore, implicit belonging andlearning PTs became apparent alongside other paradoxes, such as performing-belonging and organizing-learning.While belonging PTs arose at the stakeholder level due to identity tensions, learning PTs stemmed from insufficientdata, knowledge, and technology. Based on the findings, this study contributed to developing fourpropositions explaining the impact of PTs in scaling T&C CBMs. These findings provide valuable insights for T&Cactors to strategically plan and scale CBMs while understanding and navigating PTs. This is of crucial significancefor policymakers in formulating effective policies supporting the scaling of CBMs within the T&C industry.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV, 2025
Keywords
Circular business model; Scaling; Paradox theory; Textile and clothing
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-213503 (URN)10.1016/j.spc.2025.04.022 (DOI)001486564500001 ()2-s2.0-105004176747 (Scopus ID)
Note
Funding Agencies|FORMAS; Swedish government research council for sustainable development [2021-00529]
2025-05-062025-05-062025-05-26