Green Defense Industries in the European Union: The Case of the Battle Dress Uniform for Circular Economy

Can a battle dress uniform become a model of circular economy innovation?

João Reis, David Pascoal Rosado, Yuval Cohen, César Pousa, and Adriane Cavalieri investigates how defence organisations can implement circular economy (CE) and lean principles in "Green Defence Industries in the European Union: The Case of the Battle Dress Uniform for Circular Economy".

They study how the Portuguese Army's uniform program, compared with German and Dutch cases, applies circular economy (CE) and lean principles. Findings include:

• The European defence sector is far from green, but cultural shifts are visible as militaries begin to adopt sustainable practices.
• Defence actors are applying CE strategies to equipment lifecycles, including the 6 R's: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Remanufacture, and Repurpose.
• Technology partnerships across military, academia, and industry enabled high-performance uniforms that are both sustainable and "combat proven."
• Reusing and repurposing gear, like Dutch forces recycling textiles, Portuguese forces repurposing battle dress uniforms for ghillie suits, yields major cost and resource savings.
• Lean management practices complement CE by optimising supply chains and reducing energy and material use.
• Recycling and recovery strategies (R8–R9) were notably absent, with most efforts focused on prolonging product use rather than end-of-life recovery.

For sustainable finance stakeholders, this shows that circularity and efficiency in defence can deliver both environmental and financial returns. The dual-use potential of these innovations also opens up new investment opportunities beyond the military.

Transparency remains essential, as firms must credibly report sustainability progress to earn ESG trust from investors and regulators.

Limitations include a narrow focus (uniforms in 3 countries), a small sample (16 interviewees), and a lack of quantified impact data. Still, the study offers a rare, grounded view of CE in defence procurement.