Life Cycle Management and Circular
Economy Challenges for the Textile
Sector: Session Wrap Up
Keith James and Julian Lings
Abstract This session demonstrated the added-value of applying Life Cycle
Assessment to address different types of issues related to the textiles sector. Each of
the four presentations in the session was based on case-studies, also highlighted the
important challenges to be faced regarding methodological issues and market
issues, to make LCA fully efficient for the sector. In particular, it has been
demonstrated that one of the main concern for the sector is toxicity assessment,
which is currently limited due to lack of data inducing weaknesses in characterisation of substances contributing to this impact. It also has been shown that in the
objective of developing circular models, multiple issues must be addressed
simultaneously. For example, to increase recycling of clothing unsuitable for reuse,
markets must be developed at the same time that infrastructure is developed and
collection mechanisms are put in place. It must also be tackled in a sustainable way,
supported by Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing.
1 Introduction
The textiles sector faces a number of challenges. Clothing is the eighth largest
sector in the EU ranking of household expenditure, but the fourth largest when it
comes to environmental impacts [1]. Only transport, housing and food have greater
impacts. As part of the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP), a Life+ funded
programme, WRAP estimate that over 6.4 million tonnes of clothing were purchased across the EU in 2015, and that this clothing is associated with 195 million
tonnes CO 2 eq, 46 billion m
3 of water and 11 million tonnes of waste across the
whole life cycle of the clothing.
K. James (&)
WRAP, Banbury, UK
e-mail: Keith.James@wrap.org.uk
J. Lings
The North Face, Stabio, Switzerland
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_7
61
Economy Challenges for the Textile
Sector: Session Wrap Up
Keith James and Julian Lings
Abstract This session demonstrated the added-value of applying Life Cycle
Assessment to address different types of issues related to the textiles sector. Each of
the four presentations in the session was based on case-studies, also highlighted the
important challenges to be faced regarding methodological issues and market
issues, to make LCA fully efficient for the sector. In particular, it has been
demonstrated that one of the main concern for the sector is toxicity assessment,
which is currently limited due to lack of data inducing weaknesses in characterisation of substances contributing to this impact. It also has been shown that in the
objective of developing circular models, multiple issues must be addressed
simultaneously. For example, to increase recycling of clothing unsuitable for reuse,
markets must be developed at the same time that infrastructure is developed and
collection mechanisms are put in place. It must also be tackled in a sustainable way,
supported by Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing.
1 Introduction
The textiles sector faces a number of challenges. Clothing is the eighth largest
sector in the EU ranking of household expenditure, but the fourth largest when it
comes to environmental impacts [1]. Only transport, housing and food have greater
impacts. As part of the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP), a Life+ funded
programme, WRAP estimate that over 6.4 million tonnes of clothing were purchased across the EU in 2015, and that this clothing is associated with 195 million
tonnes CO 2 eq, 46 billion m
3 of water and 11 million tonnes of waste across the
whole life cycle of the clothing.
K. James (&)
WRAP, Banbury, UK
e-mail: Keith.James@wrap.org.uk
J. Lings
The North Face, Stabio, Switzerland
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_7
61