With the advent of capitalism and the crisis of modernity, structural transformations at the global level have become the subject of discussion in sociological theories. The concept of risk has become the focus of these discussions, becoming the basis for understanding how environmental and technological risks affect the transformations of the historical project of modernity. New projects emerge, among which the circular economy and slow fashion stand out. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the circular economy and emphasize how it is made as an effective strategy for facing major contemporary economic conflicts. From the study, it was found that the circular economy and slow fashion can be considered strategies to combat the environmental risks encountered in modernity.

The current practice of the linear economic model is unsustainable in the long term, as its consequences result in the gradual reduction of natural resources and an accumulation of residues and concentration of carbon in the atmosphere (WWF, 2014). Faced with this, sociology theorists Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck say, based on the reflection on the way the economy has been shaped over recent times, that we live today in a risk society.

By risk society, it is understood that there is a “dark” side to the times we live in, called by Giddens (1993) of High Modernity. There are a series of actions and consequences that encompass concerns regarding the limits of the use of scientific rationality, as well as environmental damage caused by industrial practices. Given this framework, it is necessary to reflect on how to deal with the consequences of the mode of production and consumption that we live in high modernity.

It is understood that human beings need to be concerned about the negative process of ecological risk.

It is observed that the circular economy and slow fashion could be considered strategies to control the risks present in today's society.

In this sense, as the circular economy has as its main objectives the preservation and increase of natural capital, the optimization of the production of resources and the promotion of the system's efficiency, it can be thought that this type of economy offers a concern regarding the limits that we can find in our risk society. As well as it can be constituted as an expert system, as it is a system “of technical excellence or professional competence that organize large areas of the material and social environments in which we live today” (GIDDENS, 1991, p. 35).

Therefore, it is evident that both the slow fashion and the circular economy can be characterized as possible tools for shaping sustainability strategies.

Society's awareness of the circular economy is important for sustainable benefits to happen. It is a strategy that breaks the paradigms of designing, producing and consuming, which were implemented in the Industrial Revolution (VAN EIJK E JOUSTRA, 2017).

Communication and information strategies are needed to raise awareness among manufacturers and the public about their responsibility for products throughout their lifetime (STAHEL, 2016).

It can be seen that, from the implementation of these policies and ways of consuming, there is space for better conditions to be (re)thought to be and be in society, as well as a space for social and political criticism. about the way we're consuming lately. Considering the high environmental and ecological risks indicated by research, such as those shown here, an important process of reflexivity of human beings on this subject should also be taken into account.