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Article

Analysing the Barriers Involved in Recycling the Textile Waste in India Using Fuzzy DEMATEL

by
S. G. Ponnambalam
1,*,
Bathrinath Sankaranarayanan
2,
Koppiahraj Karuppiah
3,
Shakthi Thinakaran
1,
Pranesh Chandravelu
1 and
Hon Loong Lam
4
1
School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil 626126, India
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai 602104, India
4
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham, Broga Road, Selangor 43500, Malaysia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8864; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118864
Submission received: 1 April 2023 / Revised: 3 May 2023 / Accepted: 26 May 2023 / Published: 31 May 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Circularity in Bio-Based Energy Systems, Processes and Value Chains)
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Abstract

:
Post-consumer wastes from the textile industry are generally landfilled or incinerated. The dumping of large amounts of textile waste has resulted in severe environmental problems. Advancements in technologies have called for textile recycling; however, the level of embracement made by the textile industry towards textile recycling is hampered by myriad factors. The scope of this study lies in identifying and analyzing multiple barriers to implementing textile recycling in India, encompassing all subsets of sustainability, i.e., social, economic, and environmental. The barriers are then evaluated using a Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach to identify the significant barriers. A trapezoidal fuzzy-DEMATEL methodology was executed to not only find the most influential barriers but also to find the cause-effect nature between every barrier. The outcome of the study indicates a lack of successful recycling business models, poor demand for recycled textiles goods, recycled products may not replace new products, lack of support for waste management in the industry, and absence of tax relief and rewarding policies as the top five barriers to textile waste recycling. This insight could help influence the decision of future policymakers in the field. Another aspect of the issue of pollution in the textile industry is the recent trend of fast fashion and the enormous amount of waste produced by overconsumption. The Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) 12 which is to ensure responsible production and consumption plays a key role in this sector.

1. Introduction

Consequences such as climate change and increasing carbon emissions are considered the result of conventional, i.e., linear practices followed by the industrial community. Growing concerns about industrial activities have necessitated the transition of the industrial community from linear practices to circular economy (CE) practices. Thus, the manufacturing community is in a situation to adopt CE practices to ensure sustainable industrial practice [1]. The need to adopt CE practices has been more compelling for the textile industry as it is the second most polluting industrial sector in the world [2]. The toxic substances released during the processing activities of the textile industry pollute the air, water, and soil heavily. Further, the processing activities of the textile industry consume more quantity of water [3]. Apart from this, the amount of post-consumer textile waste is also increasing at an alarming rate. The CE practices provide an opportunity for recycling or reusing textile waste, which can reduce consumption and demand for virgin materials. A recent fashion trend, called fast fashion, is growing in many parts of the world. This trend offers fashionable clothes at low cost, hence creating a mentality that clothes are affordable [4]. Brands such as Zara offer 24 different apparel offerings in a year, while H&M offers 12 to 16 collections [5]. This business model largely benefits big fashion retailers. However, fast fashion culture has resulted in the generation of a huge quantity of textile waste. Hence, this model is being criticized for its wide range of environmental and social adversities.
Most of the textile materials, post-consumption, are thrown into landfills. Here, CE practices provide an opportunity where the discarded waste from one process can be used as input in other manufacturing processes such as spinning, weaving, stitching, and cutting. By following conventional linear industrial practices, it is not possible to recover value from the waste, and hence, it is mandatory for the textile industry to adopt CE practices. A survey by the Boston consulting group has estimated that global textile waste could reach 148 million tons by 2030 and that would be 62% higher than the waste generated in 2015 [6]. Earlier, waste was considered an unnecessary burden. Now, with the advent of CE practices, waste is viewed as a resource. Hence, it is evident that the textile industry has enormous potential for recycling through CE practices. The absence of effective, and underutilized recycling practices accounts for a loss of more than USD 500 billion of textile waste every year [7]. Being a highly resource-dependent industrial sector, the adoption of CE practices will largely benefit the textile industry [8]. Though recycling the waste at pre- and post-consumption stages benefits the textile industry to a large extent, regularizing and incorporating the recycling practices is hindered by many barriers. Hence, this study focuses on the barriers that are restricting the textile industry from incorporating recycling practices.
Compared to conventional forward supply chain activities, the uncertainties in the reverse supply chain are quite high. Unlike the forward supply chain, in the reverse supply chain, it is difficult to meet the demand [9]. The raw material is an important factor in determining the cost of the textile product. It has to be noticed that it is difficult to process the raw materials used in the textile industry without any waste. This pre-consumed industrial waste can be used by the textile industry. Further, the post-consumed waste can also be used as the input material by the textile industry [10]. However, the amount of textile waste discarded may vary from time to time and hence, it is difficult to ensure a consistent supply of textile waste to the recycling facility. The importance of recycling clothing is often talked about and even supported by fashion retailers, but it is only part of the solution to attain a level of sustainability in this incredibly significant yet highly polluting industry. Reducing customer consumption and promoting a more sustainable way of living is especially important [11]. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, which is to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, works hand in hand with achieving a CE in this industry. SDG 12 emphasizes a sustainable consumption pattern, with the intention of minimizing resource consumption and waste generation [12,13]. Consumer unawareness and the reckless attitude of the textile industry towards the environment are some of the major reasons for the poor recycling of textile waste. Despite efforts to retain value from the waste, only 1% of the textile waste is recycled [14].
India, being a highly populated country, consumes more apparel and generates a huge quantity of textile waste. More than 1 million tons of textile waste are thrown away every year in India [15,16]. According to [17], India is the sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world. Moreover, the Indian textile industry contributes more than 35% of the country’s total export earnings [9]. To sustain the growth of the textile industry and also manage textile waste. The Indian textile industrial sector needs to adopt a recycling process [18]. Following the recycling process may benefit the textile industry by reducing the raw material cost involved and processing time [19]. However, the textile industry is faced with numerous barriers to the adoption of recycling practices. Accordingly, Many research works identified barriers to textile recycling [1,20,21]. However, it is also critical to understand the interrelationship among the barriers. Considering the drawback of earlier works on recycling practices in the textile industry, this study intends to identify the various barriers affecting the adoption of recycling practices by the Indian textile industry. In addition, this study examines the causal interrelationships between the barriers to recycling practices in the Indian textile industry.
Through a literature review and based on the inputs from experts who have sufficient knowledge and work experience, the barriers to recycling practices are identified and categorized under three aspects (environmental, economic, and social) of the sustainability concept. Then, the causal interrelationship among the barriers is analyzed using the fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation Laboratory (Fuzzy DEMATEL) technique. Trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are used in the fuzzy-DEMATEL technique. DEMATEL is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach commonly used for the examination of cause-and-effect relationships between criteria in a complex system [22].
Textile waste management has been a focus area among researchers, and several articles have focused on this issue. However, most studies on textile waste management have been carried out in the developed country context and not in the developing country context, which is essential. India, in addition to being the largest textile producer, is also one of the largest consumers and hence generates huge quantities of textile waste. With this consideration, this study focuses on the barriers restricting the embracement of textile recycling by Indian textile companies. Accordingly, this study provides a list of barriers to textile recycling practices by Indian textile companies. In addition, the causal interrelationship among the barriers is explored using the fuzzy DE-MATEL technique. With the fuzzy-DEMATEL technique, the most significant barriers are separated from the general barriers. Understanding the causal interrelationship among the barriers provides better insights into the barriers for industrial practitioners.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: Relevant articles on barriers to recycling practices are discussed in Section 2. The methodology used for analyzing the barriers is explained in Section 3. Section 4 illustrates the application of the methodology in a real-time case study. The results are discussed, compared, and contrasted with earlier studies in Section 5. Implications of the study are provided in Section 6. Finally, Section 7 concludes the study by highlighting the contributions of the study, and also stating the limitations of the study.

2. Literature Review

This section comprises three subsections, and it explains the nature of the problem and the significance of addressing it. The four subsections are (1) the current scenario of textile recycling, (2) identified barriers to textile recycling, (3) the MCDM technique in textile recycling, and (4) research gaps and contributions.
Relevant articles for the literature review were collected from the open science databases such as Science Direct, Emerald, Taylor and Francis, and Google Scholar. Articles were collected using the following keywords combined with the Boolean operators: “Textile Recycling” AND “Developing Countries” OR “Emerging Economies”, “Textile Recycling” AND “Barriers” OR “Challenges”, “Textile Recycling” AND “India”. Further, research articles were only considered for review if it is (i) published between 2016 and 2022, (ii) in the English language, and (iii) focused mainly on textile recycling. Book chapters, conference proceedings, editorials, and short communications were rejected.

2.1. Current Scenario of Textile Recycling

Globalization has urged the textile industry to manufacture more apparel at a low cost and time. Such kind of necessity has led to the fast fashion trend which is characterized by mass production, variety, and affordability. The fast fashion trend has resulted in increased sales and consumption of apparel which consequently increased the quantity of textile waste [23]. Thus, textile waste turned out to be a menace to society. Recovering value from waste has been suggested as an effective waste management method, and it may also help in maintaining social and economic sustainability. As there is an increase in social pressure, adopting recycling practices has become imperative for the industrial community [24]. Further, to combat the environmental menace of textile waste, individual countries have devised certain strategies and have also asked the textile industry of the respective countries to recover value from the textile waste. Accordingly, in January 2022, Sweden launched an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, and the United Kingdom is planning to launch such a policy by 2025. After introducing a dedicated policy for waste management, the textile industry in France recycled 35% of textile waste and reused 60% of textile waste [25]. Similarly, New Zealand introduced a product stewardship scheme, where all the stakeholders involved in product development are responsible for social and environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle [26]. By launching the Used Clothing Recycling Program (UCRP) in 2013, the fast fashion retailer company, H & M collected 20,649 tons and 29,005 tons of textile waste in 2018 and 2019 and recycled, respectively. Likewise, UNIQLO, another fashion brand, from September 2019 to January 2021, collected and recycled nearly 620,000 leather jackets [27]. The recycling programs have been well-received in developed countries, whereas the scenario is quite different in developing countries.
Owing to the lack of awareness of the role of recycling in sustainable development, recycling initiatives have received only lukewarm responses in developing countries [10]. As a result, in developing countries such as India, recycling occurs on a small scale. There are Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) hubs for recycling disposed textiles from industries in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, and in Panipat, Haryana. They are also famous for recycling discarded clothing imported from Western countries. For more comprehensive recycling practices, the number of recycling facilities has to be scaled up [28]. Further, taking advantage of cheap labor costs, most of the renowned fashion companies are outsourcing production activities to developing countries which significantly affects social sustainability [29]. In Sri Lanka, recycling activities are limited to industrial textile waste (cutting waste, quality rejections, and spare fabrics) only [14]. Unlike in developed countries, there is no formal mechanism to collect and regularize post-consumer textile waste in developing countries. The reason for the failure of recycling practices in developing countries starts from the first mile itself, i.e., the collection of used textile materials from individual consumers [30]. The collection of textile waste from consumers is very critical as an adequate volume of textile waste is essential for performing recycling processes. Many barriers hamper the recycling practices in the developing countries and such barriers are discussed in the following section.

2.2. Barriers to Textile Recycling

Being a critical problem, scholarly research works have focused on analyzing the barriers to textile waste recycling [31,32,33]. Some research works have underscored the disparity in the level of technology adoption between developed and developing economies as the main barrier to textile waste recycling [34,35]. However, apart from technological limitations, some fundamental challenges are decelerating the progress in textile waste recycling. Lack of technical knowledge about recycling practices is a prominent challenge in textile waste recycling. Because of limited technical knowledge, problems arise in waste collection and sorting [1]. Further, difficulty in developing uniformity and standardization of recycling practices results in diversified unrecognized recycling practices. Apart from this, managerial issues are slowing the progress of recycling practices. At the managerial level, reaching a consensus among the various stakeholders is very critical. However, owing to poor understanding and lack of knowledge about recycling practices, most stakeholders are reluctant to adopt recycling practices. Additionally, there has been no standard system for performance assessment of the adopted recycling practices [1]. Furthermore, the recycling facility centers are facing difficulty in separating textile waste from solid municipal waste and recycling technology in developing countries is still in the infant stage only [6].
Market demand for a product directly influences the investor’s interest in a product. In the case of textile recycling, the market demand for recycled textile products is very low. The market space for recycled textile products is curtailed by the fast fashion trend as it offers a variety of clothes at affordable costs [14]. Moreover, some countries have banned the import of used textiles or recycled textile products [23]. Such kinds of restrictions limit the market viability for recycled textile products. Then, the absence of sufficient skilled labor is a major issue in textile recycling. Though, in India, it is easy to avail enough workforce for cheap wages, there is a scarcity of technically skilled labor for textile recycling practices [36]. One significant challenge in the success of the recycled textile product is the high price. In general, the cost of recycled textile products is higher than that of fresh textile products. The price of the recycled textile product is determined by the cost involved in the recycling process. Most of the recycling processes are costly and hence the price of recycled textiles is high. It affects the market penetration of recycled textile products [37]. The list of barriers to textile recycling is shown in Table 1.

2.3. MCDM Technique in Textile Recycling

MCDM techniques are used in situations where several factors influence a problem. The reason for preferring the MCDM technique in such situations is that it compares the criteria under consideration with the alternatives [50]. Thus, the results obtained using MCDM techniques are reliable and useful for decision makers. Some of the commonly used MCDM techniques are the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), DEMATEL, a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and the best worst method (BWM) [51]. Each of these methods performs some distinguished functions. For instance, using the AHP technique, it is possible to evaluate the significance of the criteria under consideration. Similarly, BWM is also used to rank the criteria, while by using TOPSIS, it is possible to rank the alternatives. DEMATEL technique has a distinctive feature that it reveals the interrelationship among the criteria under study [52,53,54]. Hence, the DEMATEL technique is commonly used in many studies. Initially, crisp numbers were used in MCDM techniques. As it fails to capture ambiguity, the concept of fuzzy is introduced and was also used along with different MCDM techniques. Likewise, fuzzy DEMATEL has also been used in many studies. For a case, kuzu [55] utilized the fuzzy-DEMATEL technique to perform a risk analysis of ship vessel anchor loss. Then, Zahedi et al. [56] used the fuzzy-DEMATEL technique to measure the financial resilience of a company. Thus, the use of the fuzzy-DEMATEL technique in evaluating the barriers to textile recycling seems to be appropriate.

2.4. Research Gaps and Contributions

The problem of incorporating recycling practices is multi-faceted. Two major parts of it are creating a closed-loop system and promoting a sustainable lifestyle among consumers. One of the biggest drivers of pollution in the textile industry is the massive post-consumer waste. The amount of textile waste discarded each year can be attributed to the rise of the fast-fashion trend. The environmental effects of the fast-fashion industry have been realized in past years, leading to a movement towards slow fashion, also known as sustainable fashion. Henninger et al. [57] have worked on finding the meaning of sustainable fashion and have concluded that it comprises a number of factors and their importance varies from person to person. With the promotion of slow fashion and a sustainable lifestyle among people, the lifecycle of apparel can be increased, resulting in less waste and pollution. Sandin and Peters [43] have studied the impacts of fast fashion on an environmental and social level through a model. They have analyzed factors such as water and air resource impacts, energy consumption, wages, and employment. They concluded that sustainability is achievable in the industry given that fossil fuel usage is eliminated, and slow fashion practices are adopted. Yet there are many challenges to the shift towards slow fashion. There is a lack of incentive to move towards slow fashion in the current capitalistic economy. Although the recycling of textile waste practices has gained significant momentum in developed countries, its growth in developing countries is still slow. Since developing countries account for a huge proportion of global textile waste, the need for textile recycling practice is mandatory. However, recycling activities are hindered by many challenges. By considering the importance of textile recycling activities in developing countries, this study intends to identify and evaluate the barriers to textile recycling activities in the Indian scenario. The contributions of this study are mentioned below:
  • This study provides a comprehensive list of barriers to recycling textile waste through a literature review and experts’ inputs.
  • This study examines the causal interrelationship, i.e., cause and effect, among the barriers to recycling textile waste using fuzzy DEMATEL.

3. Methodology

Upon assessing various MCDM methodologies, such as AHP, TOPSIS, and Best Worst Method, and considering that the obstacles were interdependent, this study’s emphasis should be on determining the links between them. The methodology adopted is shown in Figure 1. DEMATEL established itself as the ideal solution. DEMATEL supports interdependent criteria and is effective for determining the cause-and-effect linkages between the obstacles as well as determining which one is the most significant.

3.1. Fuzzy Set Theory

The information derived from fuzzy set theory may be probabilistic, uncertain, or even ambiguous in nature. Zadeh [58] argued that fuzzy sets are preferable to binary trees in decision making when there is inadequate information available. Once language values were allocated to intricate situations, human requirements were not necessary to solve fuzzy set theory. In a real-world situation, judgments of decision makers were characterized as expressions that, when applied to linguistic constants, were expressed in terms of fuzzy notations. According to a review of the literature, triangular and trapezoidal fuzzy membership functions were the most often utilized by academics and practitioners. This study employs a trapezoidal membership function, where X1 signifies a set of objects, A1 defines the set’s fuzzy set, and x1 denotes an element in X1.
Then, μA1(X1) denotes its membership function. In this research, a specialized fuzzy number called trapezoidal fuzzy number (TrapFN) is used.
Let A1 = (a1, b1, c1, d1) be a trapezoidal membership function that is mathematically expressed using Equation (1), where a1 ≤ b1 ≤ c1 ≤ d1; for any two TrapFN, A1 = (a1, b1, c1, d1) and A2 = (p1, q1, r1, s1) will be equal if and only if a1 = p1; b1 = q1; c1 = r1, d1 = s1:
μ A 1 ( X 1 ) = 0 , x 1 < a 1 x 1 − a 1 x 1 − b 1 , a 1 ≤ x 1 ≤ b 1 d 1 − x 1 d 1 − c 1 , b 1 ≤ x 1 ≤ c 1 0 , x 1 > d 1 .

3.2. Fuzzy DEMATEL

DEMATEL is a powerful tool for extracting group knowledge, analyzing system features, and visualizing the resulting structure using a cause-and-effect connection diagram. The most critical characteristic of DEMATEL in the context of MCDM is its ability to establish relationships and structures between components. However, in a complicated system, the assessment issue is constantly perplexing. Because respondents are more likely to base their language judgments on personal experience than on exact values, it is necessary to use fuzzy logic and a fuzzy approach to solve evaluation issues in this uncertain environment of fuzzy linguistic assessment.
The Fuzzy-DEMATEL method is presented here.
  • Step 1: Establish the barriers from literature reviews and industry experts’ opinions.
  • Step 2: Consult with the experts and make a linguistic matrix.
  • Step 3: The linguistic rating by the experts is defuzzied using the weighted average method [59].
  • Step 4: Develop the initial direct-relation matrix using the linguistic matrix, which is formed with the help of a committee of experts. The direct-relation matrix A = [aij] is obtained by turning the linguistic denotation into crisp numeric values. Matrix A is a positive matrix where each element (aij) signifies the influence of criteria i on criteria j. The diagonal elements are zero.
  • Step 5: Normalization of the initial direct-relation matrix. Normalize the matrix obtained in step 3 using the below Equation (1).
D = 1 m a x 1 ⩽ i ⩽ n   ∑ j = 1 n   a i j A
  • Step 6: Obtain the total relation matrix T, where I is an identity matrix of the same size as matrix T. Each element in the matrix T, denoted as tij indicates the indirect effects that criteria i has on criteria j, which is why the matrix is called the total relation matrix.
T = D ( I − D ) − 1
  • Step 7: Calculate the sum of rows and columns of matrix T to obtain the values of ri and cj. ”ri”, represents all direct and indirect influence from criteria i to all other criteria, and so ri can be called the ‘degree of influential impact’. Similarly, “cj” can be called the ‘degree of influenced impact.
r i = ∑ 1 ⩽ j ⩽ n   t i j c j = ∑ 1 ⩽ i ⩽ n   t i j
Create a cause-and-effect diagram based on ri + ci and ri − ci. The dataset (ri + ci, ri − ci) can be mapped to create a cause-and-effect diagram. The diagram creation technique also helps to visualize the complicated interrelationships between components.

4. Empirical Case Study

This study focuses on identifying and evaluating the barriers to recycling textile waste. The reason for focusing on the textile industry is that it heavily pollutes the environment during the production and post-consumption stages. During the production stage, the textile industry consumes a larger quantity of water and the chemicals used are having adverse environmental impacts. In the post-consumption stage, most of the textile apparel is discarded as waste in landfills or incinerated. Thus, the functioning of the textile industry has often been criticized for its adverse environmental impact [60]. Currently, the concept of sustainable industrial practice and zero waste are gaining significant attention in society. Further, there has been an increased insistence on the industrial community to adopt CE practices. Thus, the recycling practices is very essential for managing textile waste [61].
Globally, India is the sixth-largest producer of textiles and apparel [62]. In Asia, next to China, India is the second largest producer of textile products. A recent report by the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) has indicated that the Indian textile sector may attract 200 billion US dollars in 2029 [63]. The Indian textile sector contributes to 2% of the Indian gross domestic product and provides enormous direct and indirect job opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled laborers. With the continuous increase in population growth, the demand for textiles is going to be high. Similarly, the currently practiced fast fashion trend generates a huge quantity of textile waste. Annually, in India, 1 million tons of textile waste are generated and most of them are disposed of in landfills or incinerated. Both these disposal methods have unintended environmental impacts [64]. To abate the adverse environmental impact, the Indian textile sector needs to adopt recycling practices. However, many barriers are hampering the recycling of textile waste. To investigate the barriers to recycling textile waste, this study carries out a case study.
  • Stage 1: Data collection and finalization of barriers to recycling textile waste
Initially, to identify the barriers to recycling textile waste, extensive literature was reviewed. In this process, nearly 35 barriers were collected. However, to collect the barriers to recycling from real-time industrial environments, five textile recycling facility centers were visited. During the visit, interactions were made with the managers of the recycling facility centers. Further, the managers were provided with a Yes/No type of questionnaire, consisting of the 35 barriers identified from the literature review. The managers were asked to select ‘Yes’ if they feel the barriers are appropriate and ‘No’ if it is inappropriate. In addition, the managers were asked to suggest/reject any barriers if they were not on the list. As a result, the managers rejected some barriers and mentioned some barriers. Finally, the managers finalized 30 barriers to recycling textile materials.
  • Stage 2: Evaluation of the barriers using fuzzy DEMATEL
After finalization, the barriers are evaluated based on the inputs from the expert. For this, an expert panel comprising 10 experts was formed. The experts include industrial managers, academicians, supply chain managers, and environmentalists. The average work experience of the experts was 10 years. The experts were selected on the basis of their knowledge and work experience possessed. The experts were asked to make pairwise comparisons of barriers using the five-point scale given in Table 2.
The following sections outline the process of factor analysis using fuzzy DEMATEL [65].
  • Step 1: Table A1 of Appendix A illustrates a pairwise evaluation by decision makers of the major challenges to textile recycling adoption using a point scale.
  • Step 2: Create an “initial direct-relation matrix or normal matrix” by converting fuzzy numbers to crisp values using the fuzzy-DEMATEL approach’s Step 3 recommendation.
  • Step 3: NIRDM of factors was calculated by Equation (2). Fuzzy NIRDM of key barriers to recycling in the textile industry is obtained.
  • Step 4: TRM of key barriers to recycling in the textile industry is obtained using Equation (3).
  • Step 5: The row-wise sum (Rowi) and the column-wise sum (Coli) of barriers to recycling in the textile industry are computed using Equation (4).
  • Step 6: Datasets ri + ci and ri − ci datasets of key barriers to the recycling in the textile industry are exhibited in Table 3.
  • Stage 3: Verification of outcome
The final step of the analysis is validating the study’s findings. Confirmation is obtained from industry specialists by delivering the final findings of this study to them for clarification and also by cross-referencing the results with current literature. Following verification, the final results are presented.

5. Results and Discussion

According to the values of R-D in Table 3 and Figure 2, the barriers are categorized into cause-and-effect groups. Notably, 17 barriers are coming under the cause group and 13 barriers coming under the effect group. Here, much attention must be given to barriers under the cause group as it has the tendency to influence other barriers. The top five barriers coming under the cause group are Lack of successful recycling business models (B8) > Poor demand for recycled textiles goods (B12) > Recycled products may not replace new products (B29) > Lack of support for waste management in the industry (B15) > Absence of tax relief and rewarding policies (B10). The lack of a successful recycling business model (B8) is the topmost critical barrier to recycling textile waste. It indicates the need for developing a standard recycling business model. In India, the recycling business is not properly recognized, and its role has not been clearly defined. Owing to the lack of regulations, recycling activities are carried out in an unethical manner [66]. As a result, in spite of lowering the adverse environmental impact, recycling activities complicate the recycling activities. Since the companies engaged in recycling activities are following different strategies, it has a detrimental impact on the environment. The major reason for the difficulty in developing a standard recycling business model is the lack of information sharing among the companies. As industrial management is reluctant to share information, the development of a comprehensive recycling business model remains difficult. This barrier was recognized in a study by Mahanth et al. [67] in a study in which it was highlighted that the participation of the government in the recycling of textile waste will aid in developing an inclusive recycling business model.
The next critical barrier is poor demand for recycled textile goods (B12). In general, the demand for recycled products has always been low. There has been a public opinion that recycled products are inferior in quality to products made out of virgin materials. As a result, the market demand for recycled products has been reduced. To overcome this barrier, both the government and industrial sectors have to create social awareness regarding recycled products and their significance in lowering adverse environmental impacts [68]. In some other studies [69,70], the same barrier has been underlined as an important barrier to the success of recycled products in the business market environment. Since there is poor awareness about the usefulness of recycled products, there has been a perception that recycled products may not replace new products (B29). Then, the fourth important barrier is the lack of support for waste management in the industry (B15). In most cases, society is not extending its support for proper waste management. Even though sufficient awareness is created, most people are not properly disposing of the waste. In addition, the reverse supply chain is not well-established like the forward supply chain. One major reason is the lack of intermediate players in the reverse supply chain as in the forward supply chain [71]. Next, the absence of tax relief and reward policies (B10) is another important barrier to the recycling of textile waste. One general concern expressed by the public regarding the purchase of recycled products is that their price is more or less equal to virgin products. The reason behind the high cost of recycled products is the absence of tax and reward policies. To regulate the pricing of recycled products, the government has to enact some policies and schemes.
Similarly, in the effect group, the top five barriers are Quality of recycled material is not guaranteed (B16) > Scarcity of waste materials, assets, or infrastructure (B9) > Excessive costs in technology investment (B6) > Recycled materials go to landfills if no buyers found (B23) > Unawareness of detrimental effects of textile disposal (B25). The most important barrier is the concern regarding the quality of the product made using recycled materials. It is the common barrier that largely restricts the industrial community’s preference for waste recycling or recovering value from the waste. The reluctance of the manufacturer is understandable as there is no sufficient market demand for recycled products which may end up in landfills (B23). Another important barrier is the scarcity of waste materials, assets, or infrastructure (B9). Although huge quantities of textile waste are being disposed of by the public, it has not been properly collected or managed. The major reason for the scarcity is the absence of a well-established reverse supply chain network [72]. As of now, only the reverse supply chain network of electronic waste is well-established. Since the awareness regarding textile waste management is immature, closing the loop in the textile industry remains a challenge. Then, excessive costs of technology investment (B6) also remain an important barrier. Technological infrastructure has been cited as an excuse by most textile companies to skip recycling activities. It is also acceptable since most of the technologies needed for recycling textile waste are of high cost [73].

6. Implications

As sustainable industrial practices are gaining significant attention, it becomes imperative for industrial management to embrace them. Recently, EPR has also been imposed in the industrial community. Hence, from production to post-consumption, the industrial community has to be responsible for the product. As textile waste turns out to be a major menace, it is the responsibility of the textile industry to manage textile waste in the production stage and also in the post-consumption stage. Currently, the Indian textile sector is following reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) policies as a solution for EPR. While other countries are following other techniques such as Lansink’s ladder (Denmark) and integrated waste management (Ireland). In implementing 3R, most Indian textile companies are facing many barriers. Most problems are related to recycling processes. Limited technological assistance and a skilled workforce remain major challenges. To assist the textile industry sector in waste management, this study provides a comprehensive list of barriers hampering the recycling of textile waste. Further, this study reveals the causal interrelationship among the barriers. Understanding the relationship among the barriers may help industrial management in taking appropriate strategies to encounter the barriers. Here, the lack of successful recycling business models has been identified as the major barrier. It is obvious that without a reference recycling model, it is difficult for textile companies to move in the appropriate direction of waste management and recycling. In developing a reference recycling business model, both the government and the textile sector have to work in collaboration. Here, the government can propose policies for enhancing recycling practices while the textile sector can express the challenges involved in adopting the proposed policies. Through arguments, an inclusive recycling business model can be developed. At the time of devising the reference model itself, details regarding the taxes on recycled products have to be discussed with the government bodies. Tax reductions will greatly reduce the price of recycled products which in turn may increase the customers’ preference for recycled products.
To manage the challenge of material scarcity, textile waste has to be properly collected and sent to the recycling facility. It is evident that the reverse supply chain network in the textile industry is not well-established like the forward supply chain network. Further, most people still prefer to throw textile waste into landfills than properly give it back to the textile waste collectors. One important reason for this challenge is that the existence of textile waste collectors is infamous and has not received sufficient attention from society. Thus, awareness regarding textile waste has to be created in society by the government.

7. Conclusions

The textile industry, at the time of production and post-consumption, is being criticized for its adverse environmental impact. Although the production stage’s adverse environmental impacts were reduced with several initiatives, the post-consumption issues remain a major problem. Though the textile industrial community will not be held direct responsibility for post-consumption impacts, with the introduction of EPR policies, the textile industrial community needs to handle post-consumption issues as well. With consideration of this issue, this study focuses on identifying and evaluating the barriers to textile waste recycling. Accordingly, 30 barriers were identified and finalized through a literature review and input from the experts. Then, fuzzy DEMATEL is used to examine the prominence of, and causal interrelationship among, the barriers. The outcome of the study indicates a lack of successful recycling business models, poor demand for recycled textiles goods, recycled products may not replace new products, lack of support for waste management in the industry, and absence of tax relief and rewarding policies as the top five barriers to textile waste recycling. Seventeen barriers come under the cause group and thirteen barriers come under the effect group.
Categorization of barriers into cause-and-effect groups will largely help the industrial community in understanding the nature of barriers. By concentrating more on the barriers coming under the cause category, the industrial community can progress steadily towards SDG12. In addition, the usage of the DEMATEL technique helps in separating the vital few barriers from the many trivial barriers. The most critical barrier to textile recycling in India is the lack of successful recycling business models. Since the practice of textile recycling is in a nascent stage in India, a concrete recycling business model has not been established yet. To overcome this problem, a consortium has to be formed among the companies interested in recycling activities. Further, the capabilities of all the companies have to be discussed and taken into account while devising recycling strategies. The formation of a consortium helps in knowledge transfer through which technological transformation may happen from large-scale companies to small-scale companies. Besides the industry’s role in lowering the burden of textile waste, the role of society is also important for safeguarding the environment. Currently, society is embracing the fast fashion trend, and this has resulted in overconsumption. Fast fashion offers the customer a wide variety of fashion materials quickly and cheaply. This has prompted overconsumption in society. However, with the introduction of EPR, the role of companies has become critical. Hence, it becomes essential for textile companies to embrace CE practices. Through CE practices, textile companies can lower the environmental burden and also provide economic assistance for waste collectors.
This study offers notable contributions to the literature on textile waste recycling. By providing the list of barriers to textile waste recycling, this study may act as a catalog for the industrial community engaged in, or entering into, recycling activities. Next, by revealing the causal interrelationship, this study may help the existing recycling facility centers in taking appropriate measures to overcome the barriers. Finally, some implications are provided that may help policymakers and industrial practitioners devise policies and strategies to manage textile waste. Like other studies, this study also has several limitations that may pave the way for future research activities. For instance, the outcome of this is based on the inputs of experts and hence subjective to biases. Here, sensitivity analysis has also not been carried out. Next, in this study, only the causal interrelationship among the barriers is analyzed. Further, the structural relationship among the barriers has to be examined using a structural equation model (SEM) or interpretive structural modeling (ISM). In addition, sensitivity analysis has to be conducted.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, S.G.P. and B.S.; data curation, B.S. and K.K.; formal analysis, S.T., P.C. and K.K.; funding acquisition, Lam.; investigation, S.T. and P.C.; methodology, B.S. and K.K.; project administration, S.G.P.; supervision, S.G.P.; visualization, K.K. and H.L.L.; writing—original draft, S.T. and P.C.; writing—review and editing, S.G.P., B.S. and H.L.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix A

Table
Table A1. Pairwise comparison matrix of barriers.
Table A1. Pairwise comparison matrix of barriers.
B1B2B3B4B5B6B7B8B9B10B11B12B13B14B15B16B17B18B19B20B21B22B23B24B25B26B27B28B29B30
B10
B2 0
B3 0
B4 0
B5 0
B6 0
B7 0
B8 0
B9 0
B10 0
B11 0
B12 0
B13 0
B14 0
B15 0
B16 0
B17 0
B18 0
B19 0
B20 0
B21 0
B22 0
B23 0
B24 0
B25 0
B26 0
B27 0
B28 0
B29 0
B30 0

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Sustainability 15 08864 g001 550
Figure 1. The methodology adopted.
Figure 1. The methodology adopted.
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Figure 2. Cause-effect Diagram.
Figure 2. Cause-effect Diagram.
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Table
Table 1. Finalized barriers to textile recycling.
Table 1. Finalized barriers to textile recycling.
BarrierDenotationCat.SourceRelated SDGs
Separation of blended fibers (B1)Most apparel is made with natural and synthetic blended fibers. They need to be separated for recycling. Yet the technology for this is cost intensive. Ec[1,38,39] SDG 9
SDG 9
Prohibitive costs of second-hand machinery (B2) In India, the ROI (rate of interest) on second-hand machinery used for recycling in SMEs is too high.EcExpert’s Opinion
Number of skilled laborers required for sorting (B3) Sorting textiles based on material and color needs to be completed at the start of the recycling process. Ec[1]SDG 4
SDG 12
Retailer’s lack of knowledge of reverse logistics (B4)Fashion retailers can promote recycling in their firms with take-back initiatives, but they are not equipped for it. Ec[40]
SDG 12
Virgin raw materials are cheaper (B5)Currently, production of cotton and polyester fibers for clothing is cheaper than recycled fiber. Ec[1,39]
SDG 9
Excessive costs in technology investment (B6)The machinery for recycling requires a high investmentEc[41]
Return on investment is prolonged and uncertain (B7)There is no guarantee of a return on investment. This is a problem of scalability since profit is not assured.Ec[42]SDG 8
Lack of successful recycling business models (B8)Without a recycling business model, scaling up recycling will prove difficult. E[43]SDG 9
Scarcity of waste materials, assets, or infrastructure (B9)An unstable supply of waste materials, assets, or lacking infrastructure hinders the setting up of recycling processes. E[35]SDG 11
Absence of tax relief and rewarding policies (B10)Recycling currently does not have any financial benefits from the government. Ec[44]SDG 8
Mechanically recycled clothes cannot be recycled again (B11)The quality of recycled clothes through mechanical recycling reduces so much that, in some cases, they cannot be recycled again.S[41]SDG 12
Poor demand for recycled textiles goods (B12)There is not enough demand for recycled goods to be an incentive to set up textile recycling factories. S[15]SDG 9
Traditional manufacturers fear a loss in demand (B13)Traditional manufacturers of apparel do not support recycling due to the fear that recycling might take over their demand.S[1]SDG 9
Lack of knowledge of technologies (B14)The technology for recycling is not well-known among stakeholders. S[1]SDG 4
Lack of support for waste management in the industry (B15)A waste management system is important in creating a good supply of raw materials for recyclingS[11]SDG 9
Quality of recycled material is not guaranteed (B16)The quality of recycled material depends on the quality of the cotton raw material used.S[45]SDG 9
Recycling of textiles is often down-cycling (B17)Most recycling practices always end up in a loss of quality/value.S[42]SDG 11
Difficulty in selecting a location for the recycling center (B18)The recycling center needs to be set up in front of industries and well as cities. SExpert’s OpinionSDG 12
Current clothing is not recycling-friendly (B19)Most clothing uses blended fibers, chemicals and dyes, and metal parts that make recycling difficult.S[46]SDG 8
Sustainability is a low-priority criterion for consumers (B20)People when buying clothes do not give enough priority to sustainability.S[47]SDG 9
High consumption of water (B21)Recycling of textiles also requires a high amount of water which often becomes polluted.En[48]SDG 14
Usage of toxic materials in the design processes (B22)Toxic materials need to be removed before recycling and this results in water pollution. En[1,44,48]SDG 15
Recycled materials go to landfills if no buyers are found (B23)Due to less demand for recycled textiles, sometimes they end up discarded in the landfill. En[15]SDG 15
Pre-treatments and dyes are not sustainable (B24)Dyes and chemicals used in pre-treatments are harmful to the environment. En[41,48]SDG 15
Unawareness of detrimental effects of textile disposal (B25)People are unaware of the consequences of thoughtless buying and discarding of clothing. En[40]SDG 14 and 15
Recycling processes may not be sustainable (B26)The process of recycling needs to be tested methodically to prove that it is sustainable. En[48]SDG 14 and 15
The process of recycling clothing presents a high risk of fire (B27)The recycled yarn is very easily flammable EnExpert’s OpinionSDG 15
Stakeholders are unaware of the rebound effect (B28) En[49]SDG 4
Recycled products may not replace new products (B29)Recycling is only sustainable if it reduces the amount of raw material produced. En[43]SDG 12
Added transportation increases energy consumption (B30)The recycling process involves added costs and emissions through transportation. En[11,43]SDG 11
E—Environmental, Ec—Economic, and S—Social.
Table
Table 2. Fuzzy scale.
Table 2. Fuzzy scale.
Five-Point ScaleLinguistic TermsTrapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers (TrapFN)
0No influence (No)(0, 0, 0.1, 0.2)
1Very low influence (VL)(0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4)
2Low influence (L)(0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6)
3High influence (H)(0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8)
4Very high influence (VH)(0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1)
Table
Table 3. Final matrix.
Table 3. Final matrix.
RDD + RD-RCause/EffectRank
B10.9792711.8098272.7890980.830556Cause20
B21.0870171.1172152.2042320.030197Cause26
B31.0504671.134182.1846470.083714Cause28
B41.6046911.6552043.2598950.050513Cause12
B51.4866421.7214823.2081240.23484Cause13
B61.9419231.4599993.401923−0.48192Effect9
B71.5303291.8717123.402040.341383Cause8
B81.8621132.5841134.4462260.722Cause1
B92.0535521.6270443.680596−0.42651Effect7
B101.6887682.205213.8939780.516441Cause5
B111.9109951.3871083.298103−0.52389Effect11
B122.008542.1894764.1980160.180936Cause2
B131.1954611.4729572.6684180.277496Cause23
B141.5930731.7783243.3713960.185251Cause10
B152.2827841.7050333.987817−0.57775Effect4
B162.2073471.4925463.699893−0.7148Effect6
B171.2719651.4641872.7361520.192222Cause21
B181.2729421.3099592.5829010.037017Cause23
B191.5625031.4148932.977396−0.14761Effect17
B201.2458271.6892152.9350430.443388Cause18
B211.2928050.6693031.962109−0.6235Effect30
B221.3112981.1862992.497597−0.125Effect24
B231.6545891.5193513.173939−0.13524Effect14
B241.6134581.0582852.671744−0.55517Effect22
B251.6070281.4463433.053371−0.16069Effect15
B261.2576421.1039472.361589−0.1537Effect25
B271.0518571.0694612.1213180.017605Cause29
B281.2397811.6453652.8851460.405585Cause19
B291.9364522.172214.1086620.235758Cause3
B301.5995661.4404383.040003−0.15913Effect16
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Ponnambalam, S.G.; Sankaranarayanan, B.; Karuppiah, K.; Thinakaran, S.; Chandravelu, P.; Lam, H.L. Analysing the Barriers Involved in Recycling the Textile Waste in India Using Fuzzy DEMATEL. Sustainability 2023, 15, 8864. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118864

AMA Style

Ponnambalam SG, Sankaranarayanan B, Karuppiah K, Thinakaran S, Chandravelu P, Lam HL. Analysing the Barriers Involved in Recycling the Textile Waste in India Using Fuzzy DEMATEL. Sustainability. 2023; 15(11):8864. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118864

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ponnambalam, S. G., Bathrinath Sankaranarayanan, Koppiahraj Karuppiah, Shakthi Thinakaran, Pranesh Chandravelu, and Hon Loong Lam. 2023. "Analysing the Barriers Involved in Recycling the Textile Waste in India Using Fuzzy DEMATEL" Sustainability 15, no. 11: 8864. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118864

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