Development of data base for simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Textiles

1.1 Methodology for the development of Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data sets Prior to collection and collection planning, quality goals should be defined [1] such as: prefer on site collection with regard to technical representativeness, ensure geographical representativeness with country specific processes, do not collect data before 2000 to obtain a good temporal representativeness. Indeed, the constant technological progress quickly makes old technologies obsolete. For instance cotton seed yields increased from 0,86 T/Ha in 1961 to 2,14 T/Ha in 2007 [2]. The following steps describe a general LCI data set development method [3,4]: identify processes in attributional modelling; collect unit process LCI data: list all input and output flows related to the activity considered; model the system in the software and document it according to ISO 14048, calculate LCI results and validate. Among all the LCI data sets, EIME–TEX and ILCD databases differentiate: “materials production”, “processes”, “end of life treatments”, “energy carriers and technologies” and “systems”. The next paragraph describes the specificities of process LCI data sets.