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Unraveling the Fabric of Waste in King County: An evaluation of the post-consumer textile waste management system and repair/reuse landscape in King County WA, USA

Malick, Alexa LU (2024) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM01 20241
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract (Swedish)
The environmental and social impacts from the textile value chain have resulted in increased
interest and involvement from various stakeholders, one of which being local government. As a means to address the negative impacts of the textile industry, circular economy theory has been adopted by many stakeholders, often using the term ‘circular fashion.’ A critical component of circular fashion is appropriate management of a textile’s end-of-life (postconsumer waste management), a component often handled by government waste systems. This
research explores the topic of local government involvement in post-consumer textile waste
management systems, through a case study approach, to contribute to the knowledge of textile circularity. King... (More)
The environmental and social impacts from the textile value chain have resulted in increased
interest and involvement from various stakeholders, one of which being local government. As a means to address the negative impacts of the textile industry, circular economy theory has been adopted by many stakeholders, often using the term ‘circular fashion.’ A critical component of circular fashion is appropriate management of a textile’s end-of-life (postconsumer waste management), a component often handled by government waste systems. This
research explores the topic of local government involvement in post-consumer textile waste
management systems, through a case study approach, to contribute to the knowledge of textile circularity. King County, WA, US is used as a case study to explore the topic from a practical perspective. This research intends to contribute specifically to the US context. Post-consumer textile waste management is investigated through two approaches: (1) King County’s textile
waste intervention, Threadcycle, which intends to educate residents about proper textile waste
disposal practices, and (2) King County’s repair/reuse landscape. An ex-post policy theory
driven evaluation is conducted for Threadcycle to assess the effectiveness and relevance of the
intervention, while a comparative analysis is conducted between King County’s repair/reuse
organizations and current literature to identify critical components for such organizations to be
successful. As a result of this research, it is proposed that Threadcycle integrate the existing repair/reuse landscape into the intervention to better address textile circularity and increase alignment with King County’s waste goals. The findings indicate ways in which local governments in the US can address textile
waste and additionally, the research identifies goal alignment, paid employee(s), and residential interest as critical components for repair/reuse organization’s success, as well as an integrated network amongst repair organizations as a strengthening factor for success. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Malick, Alexa LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEM01 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Post-consumer textile waste management, garment repair, local government intervention
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2024.01
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
9170520
date added to LUP
2024-07-16 09:00:05
date last changed
2024-07-16 09:00:05
@misc{9170520,
  abstract     = {{The environmental and social impacts from the textile value chain have resulted in increased 
interest and involvement from various stakeholders, one of which being local government. As a means to address the negative impacts of the textile industry, circular economy theory has been adopted by many stakeholders, often using the term ‘circular fashion.’ A critical component of circular fashion is appropriate management of a textile’s end-of-life (postconsumer waste management), a component often handled by government waste systems. This 
research explores the topic of local government involvement in post-consumer textile waste 
management systems, through a case study approach, to contribute to the knowledge of textile circularity. King County, WA, US is used as a case study to explore the topic from a practical perspective. This research intends to contribute specifically to the US context. Post-consumer textile waste management is investigated through two approaches: (1) King County’s textile 
waste intervention, Threadcycle, which intends to educate residents about proper textile waste 
disposal practices, and (2) King County’s repair/reuse landscape. An ex-post policy theory
driven evaluation is conducted for Threadcycle to assess the effectiveness and relevance of the 
intervention, while a comparative analysis is conducted between King County’s repair/reuse 
organizations and current literature to identify critical components for such organizations to be 
successful. As a result of this research, it is proposed that Threadcycle integrate the existing repair/reuse landscape into the intervention to better address textile circularity and increase alignment with King County’s waste goals. The findings indicate ways in which local governments in the US can address textile 
waste and additionally, the research identifies goal alignment, paid employee(s), and residential interest as critical components for repair/reuse organization’s success, as well as an integrated network amongst repair organizations as a strengthening factor for success.}},
  author       = {{Malick, Alexa}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{Unraveling the Fabric of Waste in King County: An evaluation of the post-consumer textile waste management system and repair/reuse landscape in King County WA, USA}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}