The circularity of South African clothing and textile SMMEs: an investigation through the lens of a circular economy

Abstract

The Circular Economy has been widely promoted as a sustainable model to correct the current linear economic model, which has resulted in unsustainable resource consumption with far reaching social and environmental consequences. This study investigated the environmentally-sustainable practices of South African clothing and textile business models to determine which practices, synonymous with sustainable business for a circular economy, were occurring in this sector. It was found that the majority of interventions within these businesses were targeted at improving the lifespan of clothing products. Using a qualitative research design, the participants' product chains were investigated using the 9R Framework, which was designed to investigate sustainable innovation in businesses functioning as part of a circular economy. The Circular Economy has been regarded as a sustainable development model aimed at improving South Africa’s challenge of unemployment. As the clothing and textile sector is labour intensive, recommendations are proposed for how businesses within this sector can improve to better align with and address much-needed job creation with more efficient resource use, while moving towards a more sustainable economy.