A Life Cycle Analysis of a Polyester–Wool Blended Fabric and Associated Carbon Emissions in the Textile Industry

Abstract

The effect of industrialization and technological developments and the rate of population growth have begun to disrupt the ecological balance in the world. A large share of the deterioration of this balance is due to the rapidly increasing energy demands of people. Fossil fuels and renewable energy sources are used to obtain the energy that is needed by human beings. Most of the world’s energy needs are met by fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These resources, which we call fossil fuels, cause many parallel environmental problems, such as global warming, climate change, and carbon emissions, for the world and nature. The most affected by all these experiences, of course, is the entire production sector, which is dependent on energy. However, textile and apparel, which is a pioneer in taking steps towards harmonization with the Green Agreement, is one of the sectors that started the transition to green energy within the scope of the European Union and brands’ net-zero targets. Within the scope of the Green Agreement, Turkey has participated and started to work for a 70% carbon reduction, which is the target for 2030, and carbon neutrality, which is the target for 2050. Therefore, within the scope of these targets, the textile sector of Çukurova Region, which has the highest export rate in Turkey, was chosen. Within the scope of this study, carbon emission, which is one of the global problems, was examined within the framework of the ISO 14067-ISO Product Based Carbon Footprint (CF) standard by examining the production of a textile company, and the results were analyzed in detail. The main innovation of this article is to follow all stages of the fabric called Tricia, which is the most produced product in the textile industry, from its entry as fiber to its exit as fabric in the factory, and to calculate and analyze the amount of carbon that is released into nature. The dynamic and experimental results showed that it was determined that 6.00 tons of carbon dioxide carbon were released in the time it took for the fabric to go to the sewing room as a fabric.