Towards cleaner textile production: A hybrid MCDM approach to aligning circular economy strategies with green merchandising challenges
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Environmental pollution has become a pressing global challenge, driven in part by the increasing demand for apparel and the prevalence of unsustainable manufacturing practices throughout the textile and apparel supply chain. Currently, the textile and apparel sector stand as the second most polluting industry worldwide. Most of the environmental problem stems from the traditional linear model of production, which promotes waste accumulation and resource consumption. While green merchandising offers a promising pathway to mitigate these adverse effects, significant challenges hinder its successful implementation. By adopting circular economy practices instead of the linear ones, most of the challenges related to green merchandising can be solved. Existing studies have largely examined green merchandising challenges and circular economy practices separately, with limited efforts to systematically link and prioritize them for managerial decision-making. Therefore, this study identifies critical green merchandising challenges and connects them with circular economy strategies using an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach. The Fuzzy Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis was employed to weigh the relative importance of green merchandising challenges, while the Fuzzy Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment method was used to rank mitigating circular economy strategies. Results indicate that high investment in R&D, initial high technology cost, and a lack of environmental concerns are the primary challenges to green merchandising adoption. Conversely, circular economy strategies such as Rethink, Reuse, and Recycle emerged as the most effective tools for overcoming these hurdles. This research contributes to existing literature by systematically prioritizing challenges and providing a strategic framework for their mitigation through circularity. The findings demonstrate that circular economy practices can serve as effective pathways for addressing critical barriers to green merchandising and accelerating sustainability transitions within the textile and apparel industry.
Source: Cleaner Production Letters
Institutions: Bangladesh University of Textiles, RMIT University
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,270
OpenAlex ID: W7223949987