Arbejdsrapport fra Miljøstyrelsen, 3/2006 – UMIPTEX - Miljøvurdering af tekstiler

EDIPTEX - Environmental Assessment of Textiles

Summary and conclusions

The EDIPTEX project has three main deliverables. These are

Modelling of the life cycle of six textile products and calculation of the connected environmental impact
Obtaining almost 500 textile unit processes following the EDIP unit process data format
Calculation of equivalency factors for a number of chemicals

For each of the deliverables extensive documentation material exists, which is published in the present report.

Life cycle assessment of six textile products

In the EDIPTEX project a number of LCA's (environmental assessments) were carried out on textile products. But an extensive and detailed LCA-case is not particularly information friendly - only to other LCA-experts and -consultants.

The Programme for Cleaner Products etc. has therefore supported a dissemination project "Information on EDIPTEX". In this dissemination project the six EDIPTEX environmental assessments were transformed into six leaflets, which on only four pages each and in a professional lay-out outline the environmental profile of the six products.

The six environmental assessments include:

A T-shirt of 100% cotton /1/
A jogging suit of nylon micro fibres with cotton lining /2/
A work jacket of 65% polyester and 35% cotton /3/
A blouse of viscose, nylon and elastane /4/
A table cloth of cotton /5/
A floor covering of nylon and polypropylene /6/

The present report informs in detail about methods and principles used in the environmental assessments of the six selected EDIPTEX textile products.

Textile Unit processes

The major part of the life cycle is common for many textile products, e.g. energy production, production of raw materials (e.g. growing and harvesting of cotton), certain production processes (such as dyeing of polyester), washing and ironing in the use phase and incineration during disposal. Such basic data have been established during the EDIPTEX project.

The EDIPTEX project has been based upon the nationally and internationally recognised environmental assessment method EDIP - "Environmental Design of Industrial Products".

The project has obtained environmental data for several hundred processes "from cradle to grave" in the life cycle of textiles.

EDIPTEX environmental data and a PC-tool provide the possibility for combining the life cycle of a textile product from cradle to grave, process by process, on the computer screen through a so-called modelling, and letting the computers calculate the equivalency effects.

EDIPTEX environmental data and the environmental assessments, which can be modelled based upon these data, thus represent a unique tool in connection with e.g. preparing and documentation of life cycle assessments and environmental declarations of goods.

In connection with the project "Information on EDIPTEX" a leaflet has been prepared "EDIP environmental data for textiles - a survey" /7/, which gives an overview of the environmental data, so that others have the possibility of using the data during environmental assessment of textiles.

All data are now also available in the PC-tool GaBi-EDIP - the successor of the EDIP-PC-tool.

Equivalency factors

For a number of normally occurring emissions (discharges) and for emissions, which have been assessed in previous projects within EDIP, equivalency factors were already existing.

But for a number emissions no equivalency factors had been calculated. If these emissions were to be included in the calculations of the contribution of a product on the impact categories regarding toxicity, equivalency factors for the substances would have to be calculated, and they would have to be included in the PC-tool.

In the EDIPTEX case scenarios equivalency factors for eco and human toxicity for approx. 50 textile specific chemicals are used. Within the EDIPTEX project equivalency factors for eco and human toxicity have been calculated for approx. 35 different substances, which are part of the very often composite chemicals. Further approx. 20 substances are assessed as unproblematic regarding eco and human toxicity in discharge via waste water treatment plant.

Fate factors for the techno-sphere for the substances have also been calculated, i.e. spraying with pesticides on farm land and discharge to waste water treatment plant.

Fate factors for pesticides have been calculated, i.e. distribution factors regarding where the substances end up after spraying.

Similarly non-pesticides fate factors have been calculated for discharge to waste water treatment plant, i.e. whether the substances end up in sludge, water or air after waste water treatment.

By using fate factors for the techno sphere it is taken into account that waste water discharge from Danish textile factories is treated in waste water treatment plants prior to discharge to the environment. For example readily biodegradable substances will by and large disappear in the waste water treatment plant and as such will not directly have an impact on the environment.

The EDIP database included equivalency factors on human toxicity for approx. 100 substances and on eco toxicity for approx. 70 substances. Thus an essential increase in equivalency factors.

All equivalency factors are now also available in the PC-tool GaBi-EDIP - the successor of the EDIP-PC tool.