Critical Analysis of Methods for Integrating Economic and Environmental Indicators

The application of environmental strategies requires scoring and evaluation methods that provide an integrated vision of the economic and environmental performance of systems. The vector optimisation, ratio and weighted addition of indicators are the three most prevalent techniques for addressing this need. The vector optimisation evaluates the original indicators independently in a dominance check. No real integration is performed, as the method seeks the optimisation of both indicators at once. This technique reveals win-win situations and can also identify, but not solve, the trade-off situations involved in economy versus ecology. The ratio method establishes a relation among the original indicators. This concept is suitable when one dimension has to be optimised against the other. A number of conceptual problems in the definition of the sense of direction of the ratio method make its interpretation ambiguous. The weighted-addition provides a fair evaluation of the integrated performance of a system, with regard to the decision-maker's preference for ecology and economy. This is crucial to reconcile trade-offs between conflicting criteria. Special attention must be paid to the selection and definition of weighting factors, being a source of potential inconsistencies

LCA benchmarking study on textiles made of cotton, polyester, nylon, acryl, or elastane

The purpose of this paper is to provide an improved (up-to-date) insight into the environmental burden of textiles made of the base materials cotton, polyester (PET), nylon, acryl, and elastane. The research question is: Which base material and which life cycle stage (cradle-to-gate as well as cradle-to-grave) have the biggest impact on the environment? Methods: Life cycle inventory (LCI) data are collected from the literature, life cycle assessment (LCA) databases, and emission registration database of the Dutch government, as well as communications with both manufacturing companies of production equipment and textile companies. The output of the calculations is presented in four single indicators: Ecocosts 2012 (a prevention-based indicator), CO2 equivalent (carbon footprint), cumulative energy demand (CED), and ReCiPe (a damage-based indicator). Results and discussion: From an analysis of the data, it becomes clear that the environmental burden is not only a function of the base materials (cotton, PET, nylon, acryl, and elastane) but also of the thickness of the yarn (for this research, the range of 50–500 dtex is examined). The authors propose that the environmental burden of spinning, weaving, and knitting is a function of 1/yarn size. The cradle-to-grave analysis from raw material extraction to discarded textile demonstrates that textiles made out of acryl and PET have the least impact on the environment, followed by elastane, nylon, and cotton. The use phase has less relative impact than it is suggested in the classical literature. Conclusions: The impact of spinning and weaving is relatively high (for yarn thicknesses of less than 100 dtex), and from the environmental point of view, knitting is better than weaving. LCA on textiles can only be accurate when the yarn thickness is specified. In case the functional unit also indicates the fabric per square meter, the density must be known. LCA results of textile products over the whole value chain are case dependent, especially when dyeing and finishing processes and the use phase and end-of-life are included in the analysis. Further LCI data studies on textiles and garments are urgently needed to lower the uncertainties in contemporary LCA of textile materials and products

Cork and Sustainability: Discussing the Sustainable Use of the Material from a Design Perspective

There is the challenge to use materials in a more sustainable way. Even though cork has an interesting eco-profile as a material, other aspects contributing to an enhanced sustainable use of the resource are discussed:addressing the life-span of products, materials substitution, and the trend of materials development identified.Design EngineeringIndustrial Design Engineerin