Industry 4.0 Technologies Promote Micro-Level Circular Economy but Neglect Strong Sustainability in Textile Industry

Geraldo Cardoso de Oliveira Neto (), Luiz Fernando Rodrigues Pinto, Dirceu de Silva, Flavio Luiz Rodrigues, Fabio Richard Flausino and Douglas Eldo Pereira de Oliveira
Additional contact information
Geraldo Cardoso de Oliveira Neto: Business Administration and Industrial Engineering Post-Graduation Program, FEI University, Tamandaré Street, 688—5 Floor, Liberdade, Sao Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
Luiz Fernando Rodrigues Pinto: Industrial Engineering Post-Graduation Program, Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), Vergueiro Street, 235/249—12 Floor, Liberdade, Sao Paulo 01504-001, Brazil
Dirceu de Silva: Department of Cultural Practices of Campinas University (UNICAMP), Street Bertrand Russell, 801, Cidade Universitária, Sao Paulo 13083-865, Brazil
Flavio Luiz Rodrigues: Business Administration and Industrial Engineering Post-Graduation Program, FEI University, Tamandaré Street, 688—5 Floor, Liberdade, Sao Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
Fabio Richard Flausino: Industrial Engineering Post-Graduation Program, Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), Vergueiro Street, 235/249—12 Floor, Liberdade, Sao Paulo 01504-001, Brazil
Douglas Eldo Pereira de Oliveira: Industrial Engineering Post-Graduation Program, Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), Vergueiro Street, 235/249—12 Floor, Liberdade, Sao Paulo 01504-001, Brazil

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: Large textile industries are deploying Industry 4.0 Technologies (I4.0T) aiming to develop a micro-level circular economy (CECP), considering cleaner production practices as a strategic tool. However, due to the environmental impact generated by the textile industry, it has not yet achieved Strong Sustainability (SS), denoting an important path to be pursued by managers and shareholders in view of meeting the 2030 agenda. With this, the objective of this study is to evaluate whether the adoption of I4.0T promotes CECP-driving SS actions in large textile industries located in Brazil. A survey was the research method adopted, and for data analysis, structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses and Pearson correlation between variables. It was concluded that the adoption of I4.0T promotes CECP. However, they neglect SS actions. Facilitators for CECP practices were big data, augmented reality, and autonomous robots. In terms of SS, I4.0T has a low impact on increasing resource consumption efficiency, reusing waste as input in other processes, and increasing access to commodities. This research contributes to the linking I4.0T, CECP, and SS theory. Moreover, with the dissemination of knowledge to managers about the I4.0T that generates the CECP, it is possible to develop sustainable strategies in operations. However, to move in this direction, it is essential that there is a collective effort of the government, companies, and society, starting by raising awareness about the importance of SS in the textile sector.

Keywords: Industry 4.0 Technologies; circular economy; cleaner production; SS; textile industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/14/11076/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/14/11076/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:14:p:11076-:d:1194827

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().