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Sustainability
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Circular Economy and Technological Innovation: 2nd Edition
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Circular Economy and Technological Innovation: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2024) | Viewed by 13293

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ting Chi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Interests: sustainability and sustainable development; firms’ strategic and supply chain management; corporate social responsibility and consumer environmentalism; multi-channel retailing and electronic commerce; product/technology life cycle analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xingqiu Lou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The School of Fashion, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
Interests: digital fashion; circular economy; product life cycle analysis; fashion analytics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, both businesses and consumers confront unparalleled challenges in the realm of sustainability. As a result, achieving sustainable development necessitates revolutionary shifts in the behaviors of businesses and consumers alike. The notion of a circular economy introduces a fresh paradigm for the design, manufacturing, consumption, and disposal of goods. This approach is oriented towards addressing global concerns like climate change, the decline of biodiversity, waste, pollution, and inequality. The circular economy model offers an innovative pathway characterized by the fusion of technological breakthroughs and the harmonization of natural ecosystems, business operations, daily life, and waste management. By harnessing pioneering technologies, businesses can expedite and enhance the transition towards an all-encompassing circular economy, while concurrently empowering consumers to adopt more responsible roles. Noteworthy enterprises such as Patagonia, Adidas, Nike, and Levi's have already harnessed these cutting-edge technologies to engineer their supply chains in a manner that eliminates waste and pollution. This approach keeps products and materials in a state of usability, generating positive impacts on the economy, the environment, and society at large. Simultaneously, a prominent movement rooted in consumer environmentalism has been steadily gaining momentum. Consumers are now asserting their demand for businesses to assume accountability and for products to be sustainable.

Although the number of studies focusing on circular economy and the impact of technological innovation on business and consumer sustainability have been increasing in recent years, our knowledge on these topics is still far from satisfactory, given the rapid developments in the field. The purpose of this Special Issue is to facilitate an in-depth discussion on the circular economy and technological innovation as a path toward sustainability, and provide a forum for researchers in this area to disseminate research findings that can shed light on these critical issues. While the Special Issue is open to empirical research articles that offer theoretical and practical contributions to the areas of interest based on varied research methods, viz., qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, conceptual articles are also welcome.

We solicit both original research articles and reviews for submission to the Special Issue. Research topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Circular economy;
  • Technological innovation toward sustainability;
  • Sustainable production and consumption;
  • Sustainable supply chain management;
  • Waste management;
  • Recycling and upcycling;
  • Consumer environmentalism;
  • Lifecycle assessment;
  • Sharing economy;
  • Collaborative consumption.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Ting Chi
Dr. Xingqiu Lou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • circular economy
  • technological innovation
  • sustainable supply chain
  • sustainable materials
  • collaborative consumption
  • sustainable consumption
  • recycling
  • upcycling
  • waste management
  • LCA

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 909 KiB  
Article
Decoding the Fashion Quotient: An Empirical Study of Key Factors Influencing U.S. Generation Z’s Purchase Intention toward Fast Fashion
by Weronika Wojdyla and Ting Chi
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 5116; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125116 - 16 Jun 2024
Viewed by 7422
Abstract
With a reputation for offering stylish and on-trend clothing at pocket-friendly prices, fast fashion brands resonate with the economic realities faced by many Gen Z consumers. Gen Z consumers are not just a target consumer market but also a driving force shaping the [...] Read more.
With a reputation for offering stylish and on-trend clothing at pocket-friendly prices, fast fashion brands resonate with the economic realities faced by many Gen Z consumers. Gen Z consumers are not just a target consumer market but also a driving force shaping the future of the fashion industry. Their preferences, values, and behaviors impact trends, reshape retail practices, and influence the overall trajectory of the fashion landscape. The evolving discourse surrounding sustainability and conscious consumerism suggests that the future may see a recalibration of the fashion landscape, with Gen Z at the forefront of demanding more responsible and transparent practices from the fashion industry. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors significantly influencing U.S. Gen Z consumers’ intentions to purchase fast fashion. Building on the theory of planned behavior, a research model for understanding Gen Z consumers’ intentions to buy fast fashion is proposed. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental knowledge, need for uniqueness, materialism, and fashion leadership are investigated as predictors. Moreover, we examined how environmental knowledge, need for uniqueness, materialism, and fashion leadership affect Gen Z consumers’ attitudes toward fast fashion products. A total of 528 eligible responses were collected for analysis through a Qualtrics online survey. The proposed model’s psychometric properties were evaluated, and the hypotheses were tested using the multiple regression method. It was found that attitude, perceived consumer effectiveness, environmental knowledge, and fashion leadership significantly influenced Gen Z consumers’ intentions to shop fast fashion. Additionally, Gen Z consumers’ environmental knowledge, need for uniqueness, and fashion leadership significantly affect their attitudes toward fast fashion. The research model demonstrated strong explanatory power, explaining 68.9% of the variance in Gen Z consumers’ purchase intention toward fast fashion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Technological Innovation: 2nd Edition)
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<p>The proposed research model.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Identified relationships in the proposed model.</p> Full article ">
19 pages, 546 KiB  
Article
Consumer Engagement in Fashion Circularity in China: Exploring Consumer Online Fashion Resale through the Lens of Social Practice Theory
by Sujun Liu, Chuanlan Liu and Chunmin Lang
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4733; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114733 - 2 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1955
Abstract
Fashion resale has emerged as a notable strategy for the fashion industry to reduce its environmental footprint by promoting fashion circularity. Despite extensive research on consumer awareness of resale and the purchase of pre-owned items, there remains a gap in understanding the factors [...] Read more.
Fashion resale has emerged as a notable strategy for the fashion industry to reduce its environmental footprint by promoting fashion circularity. Despite extensive research on consumer awareness of resale and the purchase of pre-owned items, there remains a gap in understanding the factors that influence consumers’ participation in resale markets, encompassing both selling and buying practices. Drawing on social practice theory (SPT), this qualitative study examines the nuanced factors influencing consumers’ online resale practices and investigates how online fashion resale practices (OFRPs) have become integrated into their daily consumption patterns. In-depth interviews were conducted with thirty experienced Chinese consumers engaged in both the selling and buying practices of secondhand fashion. Initially, the study identified eight nuanced motivations and seven challenges influencing consumers’ OFRPs. Subsequently, the research uncovered two types of materials and seven core skills necessary for successful OFRP transactions, along with six associated meanings of OFRPs. Specifically, we found that participants seamlessly integrated OFRP into their daily routines through nurtured sociality, and OFRP only fostered sustainable consumption behaviors in one-third of participants, suggesting significant room for improvement. This study provides empirical insights into the existing literature and offers actionable recommendations to key stakeholders for advancing fashion circularity—a critical objective for the sustainability of the fashion industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Technological Innovation: 2nd Edition)
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<p>The social practice model in the context of OFRP.</p> Full article ">
16 pages, 709 KiB  
Article
Navigating the Eco-Design Paradox: Criteria and Methods for Sustainable Eco-Innovation Assessment in Early Development Stages
by Sarah Peigné, Helmi Ben Rejeb, Elise Monnier and Peggy Zwolinski
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 2071; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16052071 - 1 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1457
Abstract
This paper examines the growing importance of eco-innovation in aligning sustainability with technological development. It explores the ‘eco-design paradox’, which emphasizes the tension between the need for flexible design and the availability of data required for assessing environmental impacts during early innovation stages. [...] Read more.
This paper examines the growing importance of eco-innovation in aligning sustainability with technological development. It explores the ‘eco-design paradox’, which emphasizes the tension between the need for flexible design and the availability of data required for assessing environmental impacts during early innovation stages. This paradox presents a challenge: the lack of detailed data can have an impact on the ability to make sustainable optimal design decisions as designs are still fluid. The study investigates the essential sustainability aspects to be evaluated in the initial phases of innovation and explores the involvement of decision-makers and entrepreneurs in the sustainability assessment process. The paper uses a robust action research methodology to examine various eco-innovation diagnostic tools in collaboration with two French Institutes of Technology (FITs). A comparative analysis is conducted to assess these tools’ efficacity in evaluating several dimensions of sustainability, including environmental, social, and economic aspects. Our investigation identifies key criteria that are crucial for early-stage sustainability assessments, such as innovation description, systemic vision, functionality, and stakeholder involvement. The findings will guide policy makers, researchers, and practitioners in the field of eco-innovation by providing a comprehensive framework for evaluating and promoting sustainable innovations in their early stages. The insights from our findings show how important expert knowledge is in the eco-innovation diagnostic process. They also demonstrate the need for a more integrated approach to eco-innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Technological Innovation: 2nd Edition)
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<p>Methodology for the diagnosis of sustainability at the front-end of innovation.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Défi-Ino experimentation stakeholders.</p> Full article ">
18 pages, 1247 KiB  
Article
AI Applied to the Circular Economy: An Approach in the Wastewater Sector
by Vicent Hernández-Chover, Águeda Bellver-Domingo, Lledó Castellet-Viciano and Francesc Hernández-Sancho
Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1365; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041365 - 6 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1640
Abstract
Water is one of the most basic and essential resources for life and is also a strategic component for the development of the economies of the different countries of the planet. The water sector in the context of ecological transition and the circular [...] Read more.
Water is one of the most basic and essential resources for life and is also a strategic component for the development of the economies of the different countries of the planet. The water sector in the context of ecological transition and the circular economy has enormous economic potential. However, the water resources present in a territory are, in many cases, very limited, and their availability is increasingly restricted. In this respect, current technologies make it possible to generate a whole range of renewable resources. In the case of wastewater treatment plants, in addition to obtaining clean water in sufficient quantity and quality, it is possible to take advantage of multiple other resources generated in the purification processes, such as fertilizers, biogas, bioplastics, and glass, and even recover adsorbents such as enzymes and proteins from wastewater. These resources represent a valuable social, environmental, and economic contribution. The scarcity of some of these resources causes continuous increases in market prices, generating economic tensions between producers and potential users. This work proposes to guide the potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-based methodologies in aspects related to the supply and demand of the resources generated in these infrastructures. Specifically, the use of machine learning (ML) allows for projecting economic scenarios based on multiple variables, such as the quality and quantity of the treated flows, the resources generated in the infrastructures, the current demands, and the prices of substitute goods. This aspect represents a substantial advance in terms of the circular economy since, beyond the technical aspects related to the processes, it ensures a sustainable balance between potential producers and end users. In conclusion, it brings sustainability to the urban water-cycle sector, ensuring the viability of the resources generated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy and Technological Innovation: 2nd Edition)
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<p>Diagram of the process and resources generated.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Flowchart internal aspects.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Flowchart of external aspects.</p> Full article ">
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