life cycle assessment of wool - wool industries€¦ · life cycle assessment of wool: success...

Life Cycle Assessment of Wool: Success stories and current and proposed

priorities

Beverley Henry

Chair, Wool LCA Technical Advisory Group

85th IWTO Congress Sydney

Overview

Introduction to the Wool LCA TAG

On-farm fibre production: The allocation story

Counting wool’s strengths: Use, reuse and recycling

Current/Future Priorities: Data and Methods gaps

Sharing the story: Engagement and Communication

IWTO Executive Committee

Sustainable Practices Working Group

Wool LCA Technical Advisory Group

Observers: David Maslen, Allan Williams, Steven Ranford, Kjersti Kviseth

Wool LCA Technical Advisory Group helping to tell the true story of wool’s environmental performance

Management supported by AWI

Raw material

Use

Processing

Manufacture

Disposal

Retail/Brands

The life cycle of wool products

Raw wool(on-farm)

Consumer use

Fabric manufacture

Case study: Climate change impact of a fine wool garment

Results inconsistent and highly uncertain Ratings for wool depend on these uncertain, inconsistent results

Environmental impacts across wool’s life cycle

Changing how impacts of sheep are allocated to wool and meat

On-farm fibre production: The allocation story

Case study: Climate change impact of a fine wool garment

Economic allocation Biophysical allocation

Paper published in scientific journal recommending a defensible allocation method

Method used in other wool LCAs, papers

Next chapters in the allocation story: Wider adoption More data/case studies Improved methods for other production impacts

On-farm fibre production: The allocation story

Raw material

Use

Processing

Manufacture

Disposal

The life cycle of wool products

Raw material

Use

Processing

Manufacture

Disposal

Reuse

The life cycle of wool products

Raw material

Use

Processing

Manufacture

Disposal

Reuse

Open-looprecycling

Closed-looprecycling

Counting wool’s strengths: Use, reuse and recycling

Fibre

content

T-shirt/

undershirt

Sweater

Wool 33.2oC (3 days) 30.5oC (7 days)

Cotton 43.8oC (2 days) (3 days)

Use

Reuse Recycling

The life of wool is frequently extended by reuse, recycling:

Wool is ~1.3% virgin fibre but ~5% of total clothing donated

Well-established open-loop and closed-loop recycling of wool

Data for Norway (SIFO)

Preliminary data: Wool apparel has a longer service life and lower impacts per wear cycle

Current/Future Priorities: Data and Methods gaps

Raw wool(on-farm)

Consumer use

Fabric manufacture

Case study: Climate change impact of a fine wool garment

?

?

?

Current/Future Priorities: Data and Methods gaps

Accurate, fair ratings for wool depend on better data and methods

Sharing the story: Engagement and Communication

Life Cycle Assessment: Understanding Wool’s Environmental Performance Fact Sheet

Guidelines for conducting a life cycle assessment of the

environmental performance of wool textiles

LCA: If Only Life Were So Simple

(A non-technical discussion paper)

Product Environmental Footprint

LCA experts, Academic networks

Thank you beverley.henry@qut.edu.au