Assessing the Environmental Impact of Textiles and the Clothing Supply Chain, Second Edition by Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu

Author contact details ix
Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles xi
1 The textile supply chain and its environmental impact 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The textile supply chain: an overview 1
1.3 The production of natural fibres 6
1.4 The production of synthetic fibres 13
1.5 Spinning 17
1.6 Fabric manufacture 18
1.7 Finishing processes 20
1.8 Apparel manufacture 21
1.9 Distribution and retail 22
1.10 Usage and disposal 22
1.11 Summary: key challenges in assessing and reducing environmental impacts 25
1.12 Sources of further information and advice 26
1.13 References 26

2 Ways of measuring the environmental impact of textile processing: an overview 32
2.1 Introduction 32
2.2 Ways of measuring the environmental impact of textile processing and textile products 33
2.3 Environmental legislation relating to textiles 40
2.4 Current environmental standards and schemes in the industry 47
2.5 Summary: key methods reviewed in this book 52
2.6 Sources of further information and advice 52
2.7 References 53

3 Textile processing and greenhouse gas emissions: methods for calculating the product carbon footprint (PCF) of textile products 57
3.1 Introduction 57
3.2 The main principles of carbon footprint measurement 58
3.3 Carbon footprint assessment methodology 61
3.4 Applications of product carbon footprint (PCF) assessment to key stages in the supply chain 65
3.5 Application of PCF assessment in textiles 67
3.6 Summary: key challenges in calculating the PCF in textiles 73
3.7 Sources of further information and advice 74
3.8 References 75

4 Calculating the water and energy footprints of textile products 78
4.1 Introduction 78
4.2 Water footprints: an introduction 78
4.3 Methods for assessing water footprints 80
4.4 Applications of water footprint assessment to key stages in the textile supply chain 82
4.5 Energy footprints: introduction and methods of assessment 84
4.6 Applications of energy footprint assessment to key stages in the textile supply chain 85
4.7 Summary: key challenges in calculating water and energy footprints 89
4.8 Sources of further information and advice 90
4.9 References 91
5 Textile processing and resource depletion: calculating the ecological footprint of textile products 95
5.1 Introduction 95
5.2 Main principles and methods 95
5.3 Application to key stages in the supply chain 98
5.4 Summary: key challenges in calculating ecological footprints (EFs) in textiles 100
5.5 Sources of further information and advice 101
5.6 References 102
6 Estimating the overall environmental impact of textile processing: life cycle assessment (LCA) of textile products 105
6.1 Introduction 105
6.2 History of life cycle assessment (LCA) 106
6.3 Basic principles of LCA 106
6.4 LCA goal and scope defi nition 108
6.5 Life cycle inventory analysis 110
6.6 Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) 112
6.7 Life cycle interpretation 115
6.8 Standards for LCA 115
6.9 Different LCA methods 115
6.10 Different LCIA methods 117
6.11 Tools for calculation of LCAs 123
6.12 Advantages and limitations of LCA 124
6.13 Summary 125
6.14 Sources of further information and advice 125
6.15 References 128
7 Life cycle assessment (LCA) and product carbon footprint (PCF) modelling of textile products 132
7.1 Introduction 132
7.2 Modelling for product carbon footprint (PCF) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of textile products 132
7.3 Available databases for LCA and PCF modelling of textiles and the clothing supply chain 136
7.4 Key issues in using databases 139
7.5 Diffi culties in modelling and simulation 139
7.6 Summary 141
7.7 Sources of further information and advice 142
7.8 References 143
8 End- of-life management of textile products 144
8.1 Introduction 144
8.2 End- of-life product management options 145
8.3 Reuse of textile products 145
8.4 Recycling of textile products 147
8.5 Incineration and landfi lling of textile products 153
8.6 Biodegradation of textile products 154
8.7 Summary 157
8.8 Sources of further information and advice 158
8.9 References 160
9 Measuring the environmental impact of textiles in practice: calculating the product carbon footprint (PCF) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of particular textile products 163
9.1 Introduction 163
9.2 Cotton clothing: life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of T-shirts 164
9.3 Cotton clothing: LCA studies of jeans 167
9.4 Woollen clothing: LCA study of a sweater 169
9.5 Synthetic clothing: LCA studies of polyester garments 170
9.6 Linen textiles: LCA of a linen shirt 172
9.7 Technical textiles: LCA studies of medical textile products 172
9.8 Nonwovens: LCA studies of nappies (diapers) 174
9.9 Summary 176
9.10 Sources of further information and advice 177
9.11 References 178
10 Assessing the environmental impact of textiles: summary and conclusions 180
10.1 Introduction 180
10.2 Which assessment methods to use and when 181
10.3 Current problems in environmental assessment 182
10.4 Future trends 183
10.5 Sources of further information and advice 185
10.6 References 185
Index 187