The textile sector is one of the most environmentally impacting activities at a global level, both in relation to the processes that characterise the supply chain and in relation to pre- and post-consumption waste. According to the SMI (Sistema Moda Italia) Textile and Fashion Federation, the textile sector produces 3.4 million tonnes of global greenhouse gas emissions annually and about 150.000 tonnes of wastes, with in 2019 the 46% of textile waste sent to material recovery and 11% to incineration (Italy of Recycling Report 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Textile waste has great potential for industrial symbiosis applications, as demonstrated also by some successful cases in construction and paper industries (Maranesi and De Giovanni, 2020). However, a clear understanding of the industrial symbiosis opportunities coming from the use of textile waste as resources is surprisingly lacking in the current literature. This requires to identify effective industrial symbiosis processes, design their business models, and assess their environmental and economic performance. In particular, the project focuses on two promising opportunities with the furniture sector, i.e. sound-absorbing furniture products and upholstery and packaging products. Furthermore, a successful adoption of industrial symbiosis opportunities requires to overcome strategic barriers from the supply and the demand sides. A relevant problem from the supply side is to define risk mitigation strategies for the supply of the secondary raw materials. From the demand side, how consumers value the industrial symbiosis practice as well as purchase intention and willingness to pay for products deriving from industrial symbiosis are critical to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project will consist of the following 6 work-packages that will be collaboratively carried out by project partners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n