Evaluation of economic, environmental and operational performance of the adoption of cleaner production: Survey in large textile industries

Abstract

The adoption of cleaner production practices (CPP) can promote environmental, economic and operational benefits for the textile industry. The objective of this research was to evaluate whether the adoption of CPP by large textile industries (LTI) has a positive effect on economic, environmental and operational performance. The research method adopted was expert analysis, survey application in more than 100 companies, with data analysis established on structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing and Pearson correlation analysis of the variables. It was determined that the adoption of CPP improved the operational, environmental and economic performance of the LTI. This research innovates the state of the art because it measures the impact of the adoption of CPP on operational, environmental and economic performance in LTI; It is concluded that the main performance of LTI is to meet the supply needs of the global market, and it is important to accept environmental intervention in decisions through CPP adoption, in addition to communicating to stakeholders about the positive results to promote green marketing in terms of environmental responsibility to gain competitive advantage. It is also concluded that LTI shareholders could establish strategic planning with goals and communication to stakeholders about the performance improvements obtained through CPP adoption in terms of increased productivity and product quality, improvements in worker health and safety, water reuse, minimization of waste, reduction of environmental accidents and replacement of toxic materials. With this, the adoption of CPP is a relevant way to conquer the natural monopoly, aiming to guarantee the purchase contract with captive customers and obtain government subsidies.