Transição à economia circular em confecções : um modelo de avaliação

Abstract

Due to the consolidation of fast fashion, the fashion industry expanded significantly beginning in the 1980s. As a result, the era of seasonality was established, causing the industry to increase its production, reducing the lifespan of clothing and elevating the textile industry to the second largest climate polluter. In response to this scenario, the operationalization of the Circular Economy (CE) presents itself as an alternative to the current economic and production model known as the Linear Economy (LE). This study proposes a framework for the implementation and evaluation of the CE premises in the clothing context, by means of 32 practices, distributed in six stages. As a field of study, we used clothing industry in Serra Gaúcha due to its economic importance for the region and potential for innovation. A survey with 88 garments was used to assess CE practices defined in the literature. The findings revealed that there is no relationship between the size of the companies and their familiarity with EC practices; however, it was discovered that clothing have an inherent care for clean production. On the other hand, garments with a market life of up to ten years had a stronger association with the use of environmentally friendly inputs, tools that promote longevity, and the reinsertion of components in the chain. All of the garments proved to be aligned with CE-guided product development, with companies over 30 years old being the most engaged, as well as the most likely to implement the use of clean energy. Although services aimed at extending product life are not yet available, there was agreement on the use of tools that promote clothing longevity (repairs, upcycling, renovations, etc.). Finally, it was perceived that there was a need to redesign the organizational culture as well as the customer relationship, including the orientation for clothing conservation and maintenance. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]