The role of multi-stakeholder initiatives in advancing circularity and social sustainability in the textiles sector of Bangladesh

Abstract

The global north is garnering multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) for circular textiles. Past MSIs however have yielded less-than-satisfactory social sustainability outcomes in Bangladesh. So this article asks, what impact has textiles MSIs have had on the sustainability transformation of the textiles chain in Bangladesh? And how can policymakers accelerate this transition to a circular economy? Fieldwork finds circularity issues are advancing at different rates because the industry transformation is suffering from lack of attention, motivation, knowledge, relationships, and resources at the micro-level, and a lack of strategic alignment, structural flexibility, and routine rigidity, between MSI stakeholders, at the meso and macro levels. The article then discusses the role of MSIs in restructuring the global textiles industry and offers a five-pronged approach to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.