This document discusses pathways to systems change through the Circular Fibres Initiative and Fairtrade Textile Standard. It provides an outline and literature review on key findings regarding the benefits and tensions within the Circular Economy concept. Specifically, it examines whether the social dimension has been omitted and if the Fairtrade Textile Standard can provide a baseline for investigating the social dimensions. Finally, it proposes a future research agenda to develop and align these approaches through empirical studies measuring the social impacts and changes to livelihoods over time.
Pathways to Systems Change: Circular Fibres Initiative and Fairtrade Textile Standard Dr Matthew Anderson
1. Pathways to Systems Change:
Circular Fibres Initiative and
Fairtrade Textile Standard
Dr Matthew Anderson: Senior Lecturer in Business Ethics
2. Outline and Research Questions:
Review of business management literature - key findings
on the benefits and tensions within the Circular Economy
concept.
1. Has the social dimension been omitted from the
concept of Circular Fibres?
2. Can the Fairtrade Textile Standard provide a baseline for
investigating the social dimensions of CE?
3. How could these approaches be developed/aligned as
part of a future research agenda?
3. Literature Review - Key Findings:
An analysis of the articles available in the Scopus database published
in management journals with an ABS Ranking 3 or higher, in the
period 2007 to August 2017.
•Current literature is focused on research into technical cycles at the
expense of biological cycles.
•Majority of articles either conceptual papers or simulations and
mathematical modelling. Empirical studies with primary data
collection are less frequent.
•Understudied issues include: social impacts (Murray et al., 2015)
trade-offs between different types of environmental, social and
economic impacts (Pishvaee et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2015;
Zhalechian et al., 2016)
6. Circular Fibres Initiative:
Ambitions for a New Textile Economy
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, (2017) A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future
7. Circular Fibres Initiative:
Value is circulated among enterprises of all sizes
“Such a system would be distributive by design, meaning value is
circulated among enterprises of all sizes in the industry so that all
parts of the value chain can pay workers well and provide them
with good working conditions” (p. 22).
“Since the cost of pesticides can represent a huge share of total
production costs – as much as 60% for small-scale cotton farmers
in Africa – regenerative methods could also present a significant
opportunity for farmers to reduce costs, and increase their
control over them since inputs such as fertiliser are generated by
the
farm itself” (p. 65).
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, (2017) A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future
8. Fairtrade Textile Standard (2016)
“Fairtrade is a strategy that aims to promote
sustainable development and to reduce
poverty through fairer trade.
The purpose of the Fairtrade Textile Standard
is to set the requirements that determine
participation in the Fairtrade system that
applies to workers along the entire textile
supply chain, guaranteeing them a decent
living and empowering them to combat
poverty, strengthen their position and to take
more control of their lives. The requirements
ensure that employers pay living wages,
guarantee the right to join trade unions, and
make certain that health, safety and
environmental principles are adhered to.”
10. Future Research Agenda:
CE Social Impact Studies
• emphasis should be placed on identifying the factors in
different settings that shape the outcomes and impacts of CE
(context)
• methodological challenges of identifying the initial attributes of
farmers and workers entering CE (case selection)
• attempt to measure changes in income, expenditure or assets
for participating households (unit of analysis)
• longitudinal assessment of changes in producer and worker
livelihoods over time (how change happens)
Nelson, V. (2017) Fairtrade Impacts: Lessons from around the world, Practical Action Publishing.
