Investigating the textile industry and its impact on the environment, and more specifically the link between water issues (environmental sustainability) and the textile industry, this research offers an in-depth exploration of the circular economy related to water in the context of the industrial textile district of Como. Combining the Institutional Resource Regime (IRR) - for the political dimension – the informality and the network paradigm - for the “actorial” dimension - and the Functional Regulatory Space (FRS) - for the territorial dimension - as a theoretical framework, a qualitative method consisting of a public policy analysis (studying the public policies and property rights at the European, national, regional, provincial and municipal level) and semi-structured interviews (with key actors of the industrial textile district of Como) is used. The findings highlight that the (collaborative) actors’ practices serve as a tool to fill the gap left by the IRR in respect to circular economy related to water and the textile industry, and that the FRS scope goes far beyond the institutional boundaries of the district of Como.

Besides simply identifying the barriers and the potential of the application of the concept of circular economy to water in the textile industry, this research aims to provide a critical reflection on the issue and to offer avenues for improvement. In this light, environmental sustainability goes from “simply” referring to environmentally friendly actions to also including the idea of sustainable behaviours, meaning that they can be sustained over time.