Changing lifestyles and family structures have changed consumer domestic washing behaviour in our country, with growing use of washer‐dryers and changing detergent preferences, including use of concentrated detergents. In particular, there has also been an increase in the number of combined washer‐dryers, which both save space and reduce the housework burden. However, power consumption for drying is extremely high compared to that for washing. This study reveals the drying performance of sweat‐absorbent, quick‐drying clothing in domestic washing, and uses the life cycle assessment method to evaluate washing and drying with heat‐pump washer‐dryers compared with the conventional washer‐dryer. In this study, it was assumed that drying was used on 99 days per year, based on the mean number of 99 days per year with rainfall in Tokyo. Both types of washer‐dryer showed high CO2eq emission levels for usage, with the highest levels for power consumption during drying. Compared with the conventional washer‐dryer, the heat‐pump washer‐dryer was able to reduce CO2eq emissions significantly through power savings and used less water as well, although it did require the use of larger amounts of detergent. However, the largest portion of CO2eq emissions was attributable to the drying process, and the use of sweat‐absorbent, quick‐drying clothing enabled these emissions to be reduced by approximately 10%. The residual moisture content of clothing after washing and spin‐drying, which significantly affects the amount of CO2eq emissions generated at the drying stage, depended on spin‐drying times and the proportion of polyester fibres in the clothing.

Objective. The most common professional cleaning services available today are professional dry cleaning, laundry, and wet cleaning. Many of the organic solvents used in dry-cleaning have been identified as factors contributing to global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, and groundwater contamination, among other problems, and are subject to legal restrictions and controls. Dry-cleaning remains an essential process, since it causes less damage to clothing than water-based cleaning. Requirements for clothing cleaning have grown increasingly restrictive as exemplified by the launch of the Carbon Footprint Pilot Project. Given these circumstances, this study seeks to estimate greenhouse gas emissions (in terms of GWP 100) based on LCI analysis of each step of the cleaning processes and discusses methods for reducing emissions. Cleaning is an essential aspect of the usage stage of clothing and its life cycle. To help create a system for establishing carbon footprints for clothing products, this study also examines a wide range of public information sources related to CO 2 emissions, based on cleaning site data collected in fiscal 2009. Results and Discussion. In the dry cleaning process, the electric power consumed by the various activities at cleaning agencies, the steam required for solvent recovery, steam required for pressing, and packing materials, including hangers and carrier bags, contribute significantly to overall CO 2 emissions. At 0.369 kg-CO 2 eq per clothing, the CO 2 emissions associated with the steam required for tetrachloroethylene recovery accounts for the highest fraction of CO 2 generated. The results suggest CO 2 emissions generated by tetrachloroethylene which used as the dry-cleaning solvent exceed those of petroleum-derived solvents. The results also show CO 2 emissions from solvents can be suppressed by reducing the solvent consumption rate to 4% or 20%, which also reduces the generation of photochemical oxidants. In laundry processes, steam for pressing and drying in the finishing processes contributes significantly to CO 2 emissions, followed by heating boilers, detergents, and cardboard use. Conclusions. The CO 2 emissions generated by the dry cleaning process depend significantly on the types of solvents used. The steam required for solvent recovery contributes a large portion of these emissions, followed by the steam used in finishing processes. Improving boiler efficiency is a key factor in reducing CO 2 emissions in both dry cleaning and ordinary laundry processes. This paper also proposes a flexible method for estimating cleaning-related CO 2 emissions per clothing, based on a conversion proportional to weight, by accounting for differences in washing methods, finishing processes, and solvents.