A 360 degree approach - Possibility to increase circularity of postconsumer footwear in Swedish footwear industry

Sammanfattning: As the consumption of footwear increases, so does the footwear waste. At the same time there is an increased interest to find solutions to close loop channels and adopt circularity of material flow. However, in order to create such circularity it means to overcome the typical barriers to such implementation, which usually are addressed by networking between actors, efficient reprocessing techniques and overall division of responsibilities among all involved actors. There is also a large interest to reach a toxic free cycle of material which complicates the current footwear production as many chemicals and other hazardous substances are still highly used during production of footwear. This research aims to provide an understanding of the possibilities to enhance circular material flow of postconsumer footwear in Sweden. It includes perspectives from various actors in the Swedish footwear market and provides a broad illustration of the different perspectives to enhance a circular approach in the footwear sector in Sweden.