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Inverse Malthusianism and Recycling Economics: The Case of the Textile Industry

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  • Francisco Salas-Molina

    (Department of Management “Juan José Renau Piqueras”, Faculty of Economics, Universitat de València, Av. Tarongers s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • David Pla-Santamaria

    (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Higher Polytechnic School of Alcoi, Universitat Politècnica de València, Ferrándiz y Carbonell, 03801 Alcoi, Spain)

  • Maria Luisa Vercher-Ferrándiz

    (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Higher Polytechnic School of Alcoi, Universitat Politècnica de València, Ferrándiz y Carbonell, 03801 Alcoi, Spain)

  • Javier Reig-Mullor

    (Department of Economics and Financial Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Universitas Miguel Hernández, 03202 Elche, Spain)

Abstract

The current use of natural resources in the textile industry leads us to introduce a new economic concept called inverse Malthusianism describing a context in which population grows linearly and resource consumption grows exponentially. Inverse Malthusianism implies an exponential increase in environmental impact that recycling may contribute to reduce. Our main goal is to extend the analysis of materials selection under the principle of equimarginality proposed by Jevons. As a first result, we show the particular circumstances under which policies excluding recycled supplies are never optimal. We also aim to overcome the difficulties of reducing environmental aspects to monetary units. To this end, we propose a multicriteria approach to solve the conventional-recycled materials dilemma considering not only economic but also environmental criteria. Then, we allow producers to enrich their decision-making process with relevant information about the environmental impact of materials selection. Although we use examples of the textile industry to illustrate our results, most of the insights in this paper can be extended to other industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco Salas-Molina & David Pla-Santamaria & Maria Luisa Vercher-Ferrándiz & Javier Reig-Mullor, 2020. "Inverse Malthusianism and Recycling Economics: The Case of the Textile Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5861-:d:387500
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    References listed on IDEAS

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