Operative mechanisms for industrial symbiosis initiatives in textiles: towards a new typology

The textile industry is responsible for about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Significant energy, water, and chemicals are used throughout its supply chain, raising serious environmental concerns. These issues are intensified by increasing amounts of industrial and post-consumer textile waste generated during manufacturing processes and due to consumer habits. Unfortunately, only 20% of this waste is recycled worldwide, mostly for downcycling options. To tackle these challenges and align with circular economy principles, industrial symbiosis offers a promising solution by converting textile waste into valuable resources. Recent scientific literature has explored industrial symbiosis in the textile sector, but in a fragmented manner. Additionally, the existing literature on industrial symbiosis lacks frameworks for categorizing such initiatives, especially within specific industries and lacking the adoption of a supply chain perspective. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a detailed typology for classifying industrial symbiosis initiatives in the textile industry. The proposed typology is developed based on a review of extant taxonomies on the subject and validated with both primary and secondary case studies, ensuring its relevance and applicability. By offering a structured classification system, this paper enhances the understanding of industrial symbiosis initiatives within the textile industry. Lastly, this typology serves as a valuable tool for textile companies, aiding them in comprehending and implementing industrial symbiosis. In this way, it supports the transition towards more sustainable operations, helping the industry reduce its environmental impact and better adhere to circular economy principles.