Addressing Sustainable Social Change for All: Upcycled-Based Social Creative Businesses for the Transformation of Socio-Technical Regimes.

Sara Calvo,Andrés Morales,Pedro Núñez-Cacho Utrilla,José Manuel Guaita Martínez

doi:10.3390/ijerph17072527

Abstract

The global challenges caused by socio-economic inequalities, climate change and environmental damage caused to ecosystems, require changes in human behavior at all organizational levels, including companies, governments, communities, and individuals. In this context, it is important to analyse how social and creative companies that work in the fashion and industrial design recycling sector can address sustainable social change. In this paper, we propose an analysis in the countries of the global South. To learn how grassroots innovations can contribute to the development of sustainable strategies, we perform the framework of Technical transitions. We analyze the three main areas of activity that constitute an effective niche construction: social networks, expectations and visions, and learning. A qualitative methodology is used, a video case study with six grassroots organizations in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Brazil. The results reflect the important role played by these grassroots innovations, contributing to the development of social and creative recycling companies that address socio-economic and environmental problems.

Highlights

The global challenges of socio-economic inequalities, climate change, and damage to ecosystems require changes in the behaviour of companies, governments, communities, and individuals [1]
This paper aims to address this research gap by exploring Upcycling-based Social and Creative Enterprises (UBSCEs) that are working within the fashion and industrial design fields in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, trying to develop a good understanding of how these organizations can contribute to sustainable social change
The authors applied the theory of socio-technical transitions to first identify the niche development phase that the sector seems to be exhibiting when observing the niche construction processes of social network construction, articulation of visions, and expectations and learning processes

Summary

Introduction

The global challenges of socio-economic inequalities, climate change, and damage to ecosystems require changes in the behaviour of companies, governments, communities, and individuals [1]. The linear economy, based on the manufacture, consumption, and disposal of basic products following the ‘take-make-dispose’ plan has become a public concern in recent years. This is due to resource-intensive production processes and the increase in the amount of waste sent to landfill [2]. There has been a tendency to emphasise the circular economy that follows the 3R approach: reduce, reuse, and recycle. This approach to waste reduction is a priority for international institutions.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion