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Roadmap to Sustainable Textiles and Clothing pp 1–39Cite as

Environmental Impacts of the Textile Industry and Its Assessment Through Life Cycle Assessment

Part of the Textile Science and Clothing Technology book series (TSCT)

Abstract

The textile industry is considered as ecologically one of the most polluting industries in the world. The issues which make the life cycles of textiles and clothing unsustainable are the use of harmful chemicals, high consumption of water and energy, generation of large quantities of solid and gaseous wastes, huge fuel consumption for transportation to remote places where textile units are located, and use of non-biodegradable packaging materials. The overall impact on the environment by a textile product or process may be best assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA) which is a systematic scientific approach to examine the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of a product or service.

Keywords

  • Water pollution
  • Harmful chemicals
  • Waste generation
  • Reuse and recycle
  • Restricted substances list

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  1. Government College of Engineering and Textile Technology Serampore, Hooghly, Serampore, 712201, West Bengal, India

    A. K. Roy Choudhury

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  1. Global Sustainability Services, SGS Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu

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Roy Choudhury, A.K. (2014). Environmental Impacts of the Textile Industry and Its Assessment Through Life Cycle Assessment. In: Muthu, S. (eds) Roadmap to Sustainable Textiles and Clothing. Textile Science and Clothing Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-110-7_1

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