This book investigates the nature of the European textile and clothing industry, focusing on the relationship between sustainability practices, the transition to the circular economy and the deployment of digital technologies. It provides a profile of the industry in a range of European countries, allowing comparisons and contrasts, and the formulation of recommendations for future change and development. A mainly inductive, qualitative research approach is used, in which both secondary sources and primary interview and survey material are analysed to address key research questions, and support the development of a model for the assessment of companies in their transition to the circular economy, incorporating both upstream and downstream activities in the extended supply chain. The book will be of value to undergraduate and postgraduate students in environmental and computer technology disciplines, and to professionals and practitioners in the textile and clothing industry.

Autorentext

Martin Wynn is Associate Professor in Information Technology in the School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. Having gained his PhD at Nottingham Trent University, he was appointed Research Fellow at East London University, and then spent 20 years in industry at Glaxo Pharmaceuticals and HP Bulmer Drinks, now part of Heineken UK, before returning to academia in 2002. His research interests include digitalisation, information systems, sustainability, project management and urban planning. His latest book, Handbook of Research on Digital Transformation, Industry Use Cases, and the Impact of Disruptive Technologies, was published in 2022. He also co-authored The Sustainable Development Goals: Industry Sector Approaches, published by Taylor and Francis in 2019.

Tina Wiegand is lecturer at Hof University of Applied Sciences, Germany. She completed a dual degree in Business Administration with a focus on supply chain management and a Master s degree with a focus on project management. She worked in the textile industry for more than ten years in project and process management and had management responsibility in operational and strategic purchasing for various corporate brands and gained experience in various ERP projects. She is also a student in a part-time Ph.D. program at the University of Gloucestershire and is working on her Ph.D. thesis on digitalization and circularity in the textile supply chain.