Circular Economy in the Textile Industry: A Qualitative Case Study of the Circular Business Model and the Sustainable Consumption

Abstract

This thesis reflects on the negative environmental conditions due to the current linear production system and aims to examine how the circular economy can change these negative conditions. The focus of the thesis will be the fashion industry due to its huge environmental footprint.
The thesis is an explorative case study of the Danish company Better world fashion, hereafter BWF. The thesis will examine the circular business model and how the company and the sustainable consumer, through the environmental value proposition the company offers, is affecting the ecological capital.
The first part of the analysis focuses on the business model which is examine through in-depth interviews with the company. The finding show that the company has a positive influence on the ecological capital, since they have created a circular business model in which they collect used leather jacket from NGOs and recycle them into new jacket. Through their business model they offer the consumer rental and a buy back guaranty on their garments. However, the company is struggling, since their consumers are not choosing to use the rental or buyback guaranty, hence BWF is not getting their garments back and therefore cannot create a closed loop.
The second part of the analysis focuses on the pro environmental consumer behavior and examine how it can be defined and how it is possible to change behavior. Furthermore, the analysis aims to understand how the consumer can affect the ecological capital through its consumption. Through in-depth interviews with three sustainable consumers, the act of being altruistic is a characteristic among this consumer. Moreover, they believe that actions they can take, such as boycotting a company will affect the environmental impact. The thesis found that this is only true in the aggregated impact of multiple individual’s actions and that the real change happens when the companies change their way of doing things.
Lastly the thesis discuss how BWF can increase their positive impact on the ecological capital through understanding the consumer. The thesis found that BWF through an understanding of the consumer behavior would be able to develop a better business model for rental and by aiming their product at a different target group would be able to increase their positive impact on the ecological capital considerably.