Abstract
Textiles play an essential role in our everyday lives. According to statistics about the amount of used textiles, Japan disposes of approximately two million tons of textile products per year, with a recycling rate of only 10%. On the other hand, the government has started a system known as the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP), which has been useful in achieving the targets set by the Kyoto Protocol.
This paper focuses on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a method for quantitatively assessing environmental loads. The paper reviews previous studies conducted on LCA for textile products and discusses the current status and other related issues regarding this topic. In order to improve the LCA for textile products, a high quality inventory data must first be developed. In order to do this, new inventory data collected from Carbon Footprint of Products. Finally, the study also reveals the need for application of the environmental efficiency concept as a means of utilizing the environmental load computed through LCA through surveys on consumer choices in purchasing.
