Multi-criteria Decision-Making Methods for Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Industry: A Review

Kenza Doulkifl; Ihssan El Ouadi; Ibtissam Medarhri; Dimitri Masson; Laura Laguna Salvado; Christophe Merlo; Rabiae Saidi; Ibtissam Medarhri; Raphael Couturier; Abdelillah Jraifi; Mohamed Hosni

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-17079-8_8

Abstract

The textile and fashion industry is one of the most resource-intensive and polluting sectors, requiring urgent transitions toward sustainability and circular economy principles. While Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been widely used to quantify environmental burdens, translating its results into actionable strategies remains complex due to the multiplicity of economic, environmental, and social trade-offs. This article provides a systematic literature review on the application of Multi- Decision-Making (MCDM) methods in the textile and fashion sector. By analyzing 25 peer-reviewed studies (2014–2025), the review highlights how these approaches have been employed in supplier selection, eco-design, waste management, recycling, and closed-loop supply chain design. The results show a predominance of AHP and TOPSIS methods, often extended with fuzzy logic or hybrid combinations, to support structured, transparent, and robust decision-making. However, gaps remain in the integration of social and technological criteria and in long-term modeling of circular strategies. The study concludes by outlining future research directions, emphasizing the need for comprehensive frameworks that combine LCA, MCDM, and digital tools to guide the transition to a sustainable and circular textile economy.

Citation

BibTeX citation:

@inproceedings{doulkifl2026_MulticriteriaDecisionMaking,
  author = {Doulkifl, Kenza and El Ouadi, Ihssan and Medarhri, Ibtissam
    and Masson, Dimitri and Laguna Salvado, Laura and Merlo, Christophe
    and Saidi, Rabiae and Couturier, Raphael and Jraifi, Abdelillah and
    Hosni, Mohamed},
  publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland},
  title = {Multi-Criteria {Decision-Making} {Methods} for
    {Sustainability} and {Circularity} in the {Textile} {Industry:} {A}
    {Review}},
  booktitle = {Mathematics and Intelligent Systems in Industry},
  pages = {123-139},
  url = {https://dhmmasson.github.io/publications/doulkifl2026_MulticriteriaDecisionMaking.html},
  doi = {10.1007/978-3-032-17079-8_8},
  isbn = {978-3-032-17079-8},
  langid = {en}
}

For attribution, please cite this work as:

Doulkifl, K., El Ouadi, I., Medarhri, I., Masson, D., Laguna Salvado, L., Merlo, C., Saidi, R., Couturier, R., Jraifi, A., & Hosni, M. (n.d.). Multi-criteria Decision-Making Methods for Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Industry: A Review. Mathematics and Intelligent Systems in Industry, 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-17079-8_8