A circular economy driven fuzzy MCDM framework for supplier evaluation and selection in packaging industry

The packaging industry is under growing pressure to adopt sustainable practices due to stricter environmental regulations, increasing consumer awareness, and the demand for resource efficiency. Traditional supplier selection methods often fail to address the complexity of sustainability criteria, particularly within the circular economy (CE), which emphasizes resource circulation, waste reduction, and value recovery. This study proposes an integrated decision-making framework combining CE principles with fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques for sustainable packaging supplier selection. A hierarchical structure of twelve criteria is developed across four dimensions: product and design, operations and processes, economic performance, and social and governance aspects. To manage uncertainty and subjectivity in expert evaluations, fuzzy logic is integrated into the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) methods. A case study in the packaging industry validates the proposed framework, demonstrating its effectiveness in improving decision reliability and supporting sustainability-oriented supplier management. The study offers practical insights for managers and researchers by providing a structured methodology for integrating CE principles into supplier evaluation. Its main contribution is the systematic application of CE concepts within an established fuzzy MCDM framework rather than the development of a new methodology.