Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Cotton and Other Natural Fibers for Textile Applications
Group of Sustainable Composites, Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2815 Gjøvik, Norway
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Fibers 2019, 7(12), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7120101
Received: 3 October 2019
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Revised: 14 November 2019
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Accepted: 15 November 2019
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Published: 25 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fibers and Composites: Science and Applications)
Among natural fibers, such as cotton, silk, wool, flax, hemp, etc., cotton is the one that takes up the highest percentage in the textile market. Nevertheless, there are obstacles associated with its cultivation; it is restricted to sub-tropical climates, and it is dependent upon high amounts of water, as well as the use of agrochemicals to ensure good yields. The use of pesticides and other types of chemical products give a negative impact on the environment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used in the present study in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of cotton cultivation and fibers production for textiles. Comparisons among traditional and organic cropping have been carried out. Further comparisons are described with other natural fibers, such as jute, hemp and kenaf, in order to identify the strong and weak points of each product. Weak (e.g., lack of supply, transportation and storage of biomass, infancy of the value chain, lack of production/distribution chains, etc.) and strong aspects (e.g., market potential, rural development, environmental benefits, etc.) are considered for the production of each type of fiber.
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MDPI and ACS Style
La Rosa, A.D.; Grammatikos, S.A. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Cotton and Other Natural Fibers for Textile Applications. Fibers 2019, 7, 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7120101
AMA Style
La Rosa AD, Grammatikos SA. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Cotton and Other Natural Fibers for Textile Applications. Fibers. 2019; 7(12):101. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7120101
Chicago/Turabian StyleLa Rosa, Angela D., and Sotirios A. Grammatikos. 2019. "Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Cotton and Other Natural Fibers for Textile Applications" Fibers 7, no. 12: 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7120101
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