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Application of Markov chain for LCA: a study on the clothes ‘reuse’ in Nordic countries

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model to count the number of cycles or trips that a clothing product could make in a reuse-based closed loop cycle. The model is primarily based on three scenarios: (i) self-reuse (ii) discard to second-hand market and (iii) disposed to incineration or the recycling stations. The present study extended and complemented the existing literature by presenting the application of the Markov chain to analyse the future of textile products on the basis of probabilities. Subsequently, the proposed model has been used to study the textile waste flow in the Nordic countries, i.e. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The application of the proposed model on the data from the Nordic Countries indicated that the average number of times the clothes reuse is highest in Denmark, whereas the lowest was found in Finland. Repair and redesign were found a hotspot for the recovery of clothes. Variation in these hotspots can increase the trip number of clothes. A sensitivity analysis is performed and conclusions are made regarding variations of clothes reuse under different scenarios. The proposed model may help in the decision formulation for the companies, government authorities and research agencies which focus on reuse and recycling of textile products. Based on the insights from the present work, the decision maker may take several initiatives to increase the life span of a textile product.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration and Textile Management, University of Boras, Allegatan 1, SE-501 90, Boras, Sweden

    Manoj Kumar Paras & Rudrajeet Pal

  2. Faculty of Textiles, Leather and Industrial Management, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Bulevardul Profesor Dimitrie Mangeron 67, Iasi, 700050, Romania

    Manoj Kumar Paras

  3. School of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215021, China

    Manoj Kumar Paras

Authors
  1. Manoj Kumar Paras
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  2. Rudrajeet Pal
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Correspondence to Manoj Kumar Paras.

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Paras, M.K., Pal, R. Application of Markov chain for LCA: a study on the clothes ‘reuse’ in Nordic countries. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 94, 191–201 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0845-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0845-5

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