A Life-cycle Comparison of Clothes Washing Alternatives

Garcilaso, Luis; Jordan, Kari L.; Kumar, Vishesh; Hutchins, Margot J.; Sutherland, John W.

doi:10.1007/978-1-84628-935-4_73

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The dosing of the detergent turned out to be the first or second most important factor in this study depending on the system type (private or shared). This is consistent with more recent LCAs on domestic laundry (see for example Yamaguchi et al (2011) or Shahmohammadi et al (2017)) but contrary to findings of previous studies for shared laundry services which concluded that the energy usage was the most important factor (Garcilaso et al 2007). Unfortunately, since the scope of this study differs from previous LCA models for private versus shared systems for domestic laundry, it is Amasawa et al (2018) has a different functional unit.…”

Section: Previous Studiessupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Since CBSs and PSSs (from here on called "shared systems") require fewer laundry machines, it is argued that these types of systems could limit environmental impacts, just as collaborative consumption of the clothes themselves can (Zamani et al 2017). Previous studies have shown that such systems for domestic laundry could indeed reduce the environmental impacts by 30-50%, compared with private ownership (Garcilaso et al 2007;Haapala et al 2008). These findings are positive from an environmental point of view, but it should be noted the results are dependent on contextual factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sharing is caring - the importance of capital goods when assessing environmental impacts from private and shared laundry systems in Sweden

Klint

Peters

2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Previous studies on environmental impacts from domestic laundry have tended to focus solely on private washing machines and detergent. However, public procurement guidelines about the construction of laundry spaces may also be important. This article aims to expand the scope of previous work so that it also includes tumble drying and the building space. By doing this, we examine the potential for shared systems (which are common in Sweden) to reduce the environmental impacts of laundry activities, in comparison with consumer choices associated with machine operation (i.e., wash temperature and amount of detergent). Methods An LCA model was created using product information data from the European Union. Emissions from building use were taken from Swedish cradle-to-grave reports on energy-efficient buildings. The resulting model was run with additional sensitivity analysis of the variables, and the associated emissions from each of the scenarios were calculated. Results and discussion On average, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for private laundries in Sweden were estimated to be 190 g CO2 eq./kg laundry (washed and dried). If a shared laundry was used instead, the resulting emissions decreased by approximately 26%. The greatest contribution to GHG emissions was the use of detergent (22–33% of total emissions), followed by capital goods (11–38% of total emissions). Conclusion Deciding to construct shared laundries in newly built apartment buildings in Sweden, rather than in-unit machines, would reduce the emissions from domestic laundry for these tenants by approximately 26%. This is because materials used for manufacturing whitegoods, as well as the emissions associated with the building itself, play a much bigger role than previously thought. Additionally, since the cleaning efficiency of warm water and some of the components used in detergents rises with temperature, emissions from domestic laundering could for some consumers be reduced further by washing at higher temperature but with less detergent. This pattern could be seen in Sweden within regions with hard water, where the emissions from domestic laundry could be reduced by 6–12%.

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Section: Previous Studiessupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing is caring - the importance of capital goods when assessing environmental impacts from private and shared laundry systems in Sweden

Klint

Peters

2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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“…The environmental impacts associated with the manufacture of plastic bags [16] and the repercussions in ecosystems, and in this case the destruction and exhaustion of the ozone layer [17], are reasons to evaluate the life cycle of the process. By having pertinent information, it becomes possible to establish technologies and strategies that allow for mitigating the impact of the sector as well as achieving cleaner production.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental assessment of ozone layer depletion due to the manufacture of plastic bags

Méndez

Silva-Rodríguez

2018

Heliyon

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The results of a quantitative study about the potential environmental impact of ozone layer depletion due to the manufacture of plastic bags in a plant located in northern Colombia are presented in this article. The identification of the emitted gases is essential to determine their contribution to the depletion of the ozone layer and is measured in Kg. Eq. CFC-11 with LCA software, SimaPro. The criterion used in this evaluation are based on a life cycle analysis methodology and the objectives, scope and limitations of the productive system were defined based on this. From this information an inventory was made, taking as the main element the quantitative measurement of matter and energy flows for all inputs and outputs of the production process. The information about the process enabled the identification, characterization and assessment of the environmental impact of global warming related to the production of plastic bags, leading to the conclusion that the most polluting process is that of extrusion followed by the printing of plastic bags.

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“…The natural land transformation category is the most affected environmental issue since the large usage of detergents (90 g per washing cycle according to Garcilaso, Jordan, Kumar, Hutchins, and Sutherland (2007)) generates the discharge of polluting species such as phosphates in the environment and particularly in water.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of high-protective clothing for complex emergency operations

Fatarella

Parisi

Varheenmaa

et al. 2014

The Journal of The Textile Institute

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A Life-cycle Comparison of Clothes Washing Alternatives

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

Sharing is caring - the importance of capital goods when assessing environmental impacts from private and shared laundry systems in Sweden

Sharing is caring - the importance of capital goods when assessing environmental impacts from private and shared laundry systems in Sweden

Environmental assessment of ozone layer depletion due to the manufacture of plastic bags

Life cycle assessment of high-protective clothing for complex emergency operations

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