The Circular Economy and Textile Industry: Opportunities and Synergies for Reaching Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Though the global textile industry contributes to economic growth and innovation, it creates several challenges in terms of environment and society, such as waste production, water contamination, and release of carbon, keeping major payoffs in the scales of India, especially Tamil Nadu, since it is one of the largest textile hubs. The purpose of this study is to examine how the Tamil Nadu textile industry has incorporated circular economy (CE) practices with regard to ecological consequences, identifying relevant CE tenets assessing the advantages of long-term viability analyzing public roles, and formulating policy proposals for accomplishing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the industry. The study used quantitative research design and a structured survey conducted over 300 textile industry professionals in major hubs of Tamil Nadu to understand adoption of CE procedures in the declared extent linkage with sustainable development goals (SDGs). Data were analyzed using various statistical means descriptive and inferential statistics including multiple regression, ANOVA, SEM and factor analysis. The study found that technological innovations (M = 4.19, t = 135.909) and consumer awareness (M = 4.18, t = 133.351) were the most influential factors driving sustainability in Tamil Nadu’s textile industry, while supply chain circularity (M = 4.15, t = 135.440) also played a key role. Statistical analysis confirmed that CE practices significantly enhance sustainability performance (β = 0.478, p < 0.001), with strong contributions from government policies (β = 0.175, p < 0.001), corporate sustainability strategies (β = 0.384, p < 0.001), consumer awareness (β = 0.173, p = 0.003), and technological advancements (β = 0.131, p = 0.004), while supply chain circularity mediated CE's impact on sustainability (β = 0.132, p = 0.005).