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Stakeholder group
Grassroots thinking and circular economy practices in regional communities
This thought leadership project was commissioned by the Innovation Caucus to better understand the barriers and challenges faced by organisations of a different type and size in the transition to a circular economy. It focusses on the fashion a textiles industry within a specific regional context, that of Cornwall in the Southwest of the UK.
The fashion and textile industry is an area of strategic national importance to the UK economy as a key input to multiple commercial sectors, value chains and products. It is a sector that presents an opportunity to transform and deliver substantially better economic, societal, and environmental outcomes. In recognition of this, the project worked closely with the TeX Innovation project to further understand the skills, knowledge, and opportunities to reduce textile and fashion consumption and waste. It also partnered with Cultivate Cornwall and Upcycle Kernow to explore an embedded grass-roots textile community serving nearly 4000 people a year and engaging with over 300 fashion and textile businesses in a key UK peripheral region of Cornwall.
To capture previously unheard voices of the fashion and textile community, three main stakeholder groups (Governance, Business & Communities) were explored and data was collected through workshops and interviews with 31 participants with varying levels of responsibility. The report concludes by contributing to the existing literature through theory development and suggests a new circular futures scenario for Cornwall.
Grassroots thinking and circular economy practices in regional communities 2023
Date: 10 February 2023