This paper explores the societal implications of used clothing supply chains, a topic often overlooked in favor of economic and environmental considerations. Based on the data collected from 20 organizations involved in used clothing supply chains, this study revealed the societal implications concerning three key themes: sustainable lifestyles and environmental justice, circular job creation and skill gaps, and stakeholder engagement for ecosystem development. The findings point to socio-economic dichotomies and propose three strategic imperatives to address them, which include (i) education, training, and awareness, (ii) policy and practice, and (iii) ecosystem collaboration. The findings of this study aim to inspire further discussions and empirical research in this field.

This book explores the integration of innovative technologies in the fashion industry to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and customer experience. It provides an in-depth analysis of the various advanced technologies, such as data analytics, 3D printing, robotics, blockchain, RFID, IOT, and artificial intelligence, and how they can be applied in the fashion supply chain. The book also examines the opportunities and challenges that arise with the adoption of these technologies in different areas of the fashion industry, from design and production to marketing and sales. Overall, the book presents a comprehensive overview of the impact of digital and advanced technologies on the fashion supply chain and how these technologies can drive the industry towards a more sustainable and customer-centric future.

Purpose

The process of redesigning is one of the essential steps in upcycling, which comprises ideation, reconstruction and fitting. This paper aims to study the best practice of upcycling in the clothing industry. This study is an attempt to standardise upcycling/redesign process.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory approach was adopted to perform the research. This study draws on the multiple organisations involved in the upcycling of clothes. The organisations chosen for this study are located in Sweden and Romania using the snowball technique. Semi-structured interviews, direct and participatory observation approaches were used to collect information. The collected data are systematically analysed using NVivo 10 software.

Findings

This paper provides empirical insights into the diverse practices of upcycling. Process, product and demand-based were three fundamental approaches to performing the redesigning process. The fabric quality and durability, variations in size, colour and pattern, skills and efforts required in the extraction of parts and environmental consciousness and awareness were the main factors influencing upcycling process.

Research limitations/implications

The use of the European case may miss best practices from the other region. This study may help scholars to understand the method of upcycling. A practitioner of upcycling can use the findings to improve and standardise the existing process. This research is beneficial for society, as this leads to the reduction of textile wastage.

Originality/value

This paper conceptualises some of the best practices of clothes redesign. This provides a good insight for the organisation for the improvement in the redesign business.

To achieve the ultimate potential of the circular economy (CE), it is necessary to operationalize a cascaded system where R-imperative business models such as repair, reuse, and recycling are implemented before the materials/products end up in energy recovery. Despite frequent discussions of the cascade, mainly in the case of biological nutrients, there is a dearth of literature on understanding cascading for technical material/product cycles. Given the resource-intensive and polluting nature of textiles and clothing (T&C) industry, thus cascading can play an important role. This study, through a systematic literature review, attempts to understand the facilitators and barriers to cascade circular business models in the T&C industry. Results indicate different closed loops cascading between the downstream actors of the value chain where brands and service providers are involved. Likewise, between manufacturers and recyclers engaged in downcycling activities. The cascades have also been seen in open loops, in the inter-industrial forms, such as the production of composite materials and building insulation from textile waste and non-woven textiles. In particular, the non-participation of the brand owner in the valuation of used clothes, lack of markets and recyclers in the care of textile waste, and effective recycling policies to ensure high quality in recycling are among the most important cascade barriers while structured provision of information, government financial support, and deliberate actions by the economic policymakers can facilitate cascading. This study provides a basis for further collaboration between T&C value chain actors in capturing undiscovered implicit and explicit values in the transition to CE.

In light of the recent developments in recycling technologies and commercialization, supply chain capabilities are decisive for large-scale textile-to-textile recycling practices. Despite this, the current status and landscape of these practices is surprisingly little researched from a logistics and supply chain management point of view. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore supply chain capabilities required in the textile-to-textile recycling supply chain. The paper is based on an interview study with 20 stakeholders along the textile recycling supply chain, covering various types of collectors, sorters, and recyclers in Sweden and mainland Europe.

The findings present eleven specific supply chain capabilities distributed over the three main supply chain activities of collection, sorting, and recycling. By doing this, the study seeks to provide a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the role of logistics and supply chain management in textile-to-textile recycling practices. The findings also provide insights into more general industry-related design issues, including the matching of product supply and demand, the establishment of new supply chains, and balancing global and local interests.

The purpose of this paper is to understand supply network configuration for small-series production within high-cost contexts, and the context-specific decision logics associated. A total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) and MICMAC mixed-methods approach is used to determine and interpret interrelationships among SNC and capability-related aspects identified from the literature. Respondents come from EU textile/apparel companies, undertaking small-series production/sourcing in the region, with different roles in the value chain. The findings led to several propositions. They highlight the foundational nature of supply chain relationships and digital data sharing; interacting product/process flexibility and specialisation considerations, with associated enablers and barriers; the challenges related to location, which is the crucial supply chain driver; and the need to balance various interrelated capability drivers, such as quality, innovation, and sustainability. These findings can support practitioners for reconfiguration, and the approach can be used to address other contexts and thus enhance generalisability.

India is now poised to become one of the most important recycling hubs of the world. In the recent years, large-scale infrastructural set-up for sorting, processing, and recycling textiles has received attention. Additionally, with the positive policy intervention from the government, textile recyclers and sorters are now investing in modern technologies and exploring new business models to reshape this industry. This opens up opportunities for developing novel industrial value chains and ecosystems for valorising textile waste inter-continentally. 

This white paper serves a strategic insight document for all stakeholders associated with the quadruple helix of Indian textile recycling ecosystem, that is textile recycling sector, textile value chain players, governmental and financial institutions, academia, and special interest groups to vision the key strategic intervention areas and develop guidelines on future road mapping for designing a flourishing textile recycling ecosystem in India. 

We have addressed 4 dimensions for scaling textile recycling ecosystems and its underlying value chains, in terms of value chain optimization, supply-market strategic alignment, designing ecosystem sustainability and mobilizing external support to create a level playing field for value chain actors. 13 strategic intervention areas (SIAs) are identified where actions are required. To sum up:

• Value chain optimization calls for advancing existing technologies and building multi-technology flexible platforms to valorise diverse waste fractions. While legitimacy-building tools via certifications, standards and accreditations are crucial for brand image, of equal importance is supply network design for increasing effectiveness.
• Strategic alignment in textile recycling value chains for matching supply and demands, calls for improving market, customer and supply chain orientation, for enhancing value opportunities. While improved data generation and visibility will drive such market and business intelligence potential, it is of tantamount importance to create balanced recipe of standardization and “out-of-box” innovation and creativity.
• Lifecycle thinking and brand leadership should drive the textile recycling ecosystem forward towards profitability, scale and sustainability. A systemic perspective is crucial underpinned by radically new services and collaborations to bridge the value chain gaps in the ecosystem.  Triple-bottom line sustainability in textile recycling is essential to mitigate unintended consequence of recycling and achieve net-zero.
• Mobilizing multi-stakeholder partnership through incentivization and circular financing from government, financial and public institutions will create more formal organization of the textile recycling ecosystem. Orchestration is crucial to create knowledge-based ecosystems with shared learning.

The fashion business is dynamic and different from other businesses. Raw materials pass through various stages before shaping into the final products. These stages are design conceptualisation, raw material sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, and retailing. In the forward supply chain, products flow downstream, i.e., from manufacturing to the consumer. After end-of-use or end-of-life, the products move upstream for different reasons such as reuse, redesign, or recycling, hence closing the supply chain loop. Multiple facets of the reverse and closed-loop supply chain of the fashion business are discussed in this chapter, including factors affecting it. The most forward supply chain starts in the developing countries due to low wages. In contrast, the acquisition process of discarded products in reverse logistics starts in Western countries due to higher per capita income. Traditionally, charity organisations carried out reverse logistics activities of fashion products, however, many new players/companies are entering the reverse supply chain of the fashion business. The closed-loop supply chain of fashion is not much in practice though this is the need of today.