Content area
Full text
Introduction
Resource constraints and product end-of-life issues have become relevant topics for governments and businesses, regarded both as an environmental liability and economic opportunity (Lewandowski, 2016). The problems of material waste and resource efficiency are closely linked to the concept of circular economy, which opposes a linear economy and aims to achieve the decoupling of economic growth from natural resource depletion and environmental degradation through activities that reduce, reuse and recycle materials in production, distribution and consumption processes (Cooper, 1999; Murray et al., 2015). The core of circular economy is the circular (closed) flow of materials and the use of raw materials and energy through multiple phases (Yuan et al., 2006). Current trends, such as increasing consumption, new generations of consumers, urbanization and employment, tightening legislation and technological leaps, accelerate the transition to a circular economy (Antikainen and Valkokari, 2016).
Transition toward a circular economy requires changes throughout many components of an economy and society, such as value chains, product design, new business models, new approaches of turning waste into a resource, to new modes of consumer behavior, financing methods and legislation (European Commission, 2014). It requires a paradigm shift in the way products are designed, produced and consumed and requires placing sustainability and closed-loop thinking at the heart of each business model (Preston, 2012). Thus, the shift from a linear economic system to a circular concerns companies on a micro level and brings along the need to construct new business models or innovate existing ones with emphasis on the control of the products and materials throughout their entire life cycle (Wells, 2013). Traditional fashion companies’ business models mainly focus on creating and capturing value from the sale of new products, while aspects related to circular economy principles, such as product take-back, reuse and recycling are often not an integral part.
The aim of this paper is to explore the challenges and solutions associated with an organization’s development and test of a take-back system in an existing business model. The paper is based on empirical insights from a 34-month long qualitative case study of a leading Scandinavian fashion brand. The study followed an engaged scholarship strategy where the interplay between theory and reality is central in order to create knowledge that advances both...