Shaping innovation practices through visions of sustainability; An analysis of the post-industrial textile waste recycling network in India

Abstract

The textile and garment industries are large contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions and waste production, whereas recycling presents a viable solution to decrease this negative impact. This study explores the organization of the post-industrial textile waste recycling network in India, and it shows how innovation practices are shaped by the visions of sustainability embodied by the network actors. India, a global textile and garment producer with well-established textile waste recycling hubs, is selected as a focus for this case study. This research is a multi-method qualitative study that uses in-depth interviews and secondary data to examine this research topic through a critical realist approach. Based on a literature review a theoretical framework is built to analyze the empirical findings. There are several actors involved in the recycling network portraying a multipolar governance. Furthermore, influences from the overlapping textile and garment production network can be observed. The ambition to create more value is the main driver of innovation in the network. Open innovation practices should be increased by incorporating more collaborative activities. Innovation practices are mostly creating incremental process innovations that do not have a major impact on the network’s organization. The activities of the network mostly embody a vision of green capital accumulation, which is a model that sells sustainability as a commodity and prioritizes economic aims over environmentally sustainable outcomes. Since there is a need for more sustainable processes, more radical innovation is needed that can foster a more sustainable network. Currently, a lack of financial resources and insufficient governmental actions are the main reasons hindering the creation and implementation of more radical innovations. These barriers need to be overcome to create the desired change in the Indian post-industrial textile waste recycling network.