O plástico na indústria têxtil: os impactos de um imposto verde nas cinco macrorregiões do Brasil

Abstract

Evaluated as one of the most plastic-intensive industries, due to the wide use of synthetic fibers from fossil origins, the textile industry is recognized as one of the main responsible for plastic pollution. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the potential of applying a green tax as a strategy to reduce the use of plastic by the textile and retail industry. To this end, a Computable General Equilibrium Model was developed, based on the GTAP model in version 11 that contains economic data from 2017, concomitantly with PAEG version 6. In this way, this study intends to analyze the effects generated by the introduction of the green tax in Social Well-Being, in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and in industrial production, both on a global scale and in the context of the five Brazilian macro-regions. Given this, three tax shock scenarios were created, the first involved application of the tax on intermediate consumption of domestic and imported goods; the second the application of the tax to domestic production; and the third scenario, the tax was applied to domestic and imported consumption by private agents. The sectors analyzed were Chemicals, Rubber and Plastic Industry (CRP), Textile (TEX) and Clothing (WAP). The results achieved in the World region indicate a reduction in the level of global industrial production of the order of -0.07% in the Chemicals, Rubber and Plastic Industry (CRP) sector, in the Textile (TEX) sector of -2.05% and of Clothing (WAP) of -2.68%, with a decline in GDP of 0.05%, around UD$ -43.56 billion dollars per year, as well as in Social Welfare of -0.11% , around UD$ -54.14 billion dollars per year. In the Brazilian scenario, GDP showed a decline in GDP of UD$ - 0.43 billion dollars per year, as well as Social Welfare of UD$ - 1.79 billion dollars per year. In the context of the five Brazilian macro-regions, production in the Chemicals, Rubber and Plastic Industry (CRP) sector showed the biggest drop in the South region -0.31%, in the Textile sector (TEX) the Southeast region had a reduction in the level of production of -4.90%, and in the Clothing sector (WAP) the South region presented the lowest growth of 1.05%. Evidence suggests that implementing a green tax may be a viable strategy to reduce the use of plastic by the textile and retail industry. This study contributes to the empirical literature, as it evaluates the application of the green tax as an environmental policy tool, analyzing it in the global and regional context of Brazil. Additionally, it reinforces the importance of proactive strategies on the part of the textile and clothing industry, to coordinate its practices with social expectations of sustainability, ensuring its perpetuity in the face of numerous emerging environmental challenges.