GET INVOLVED

In order to ensure the tools for substantiating green claims are credible and reliable, they need to be founded on scientific research. Whilst scientific experts have provided extensive research to inform this process - covering areas such as Life Cycle Assessment, consumer behaviour, and microplastics - not all findings have been fully considered by policymakers or those developing the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for apparel and footwear. It is however essential that PEF and the PEFCR for apparel and footwear accurately reflect the true environmental impacts of textiles.

Here is a round-up of key scientific research that we encourage the European Commission to be using to inform the development of the PEF and the PEFCR:

 

Life Cycle Assessment

1. Handbook of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Textiles and Clothing (2016). Science Direct.
2. Application of life cycle assessment to sheep production systems: investigating co-production of wool and meat using case studies from major global producers (2015). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
3. Quantifying carbon sequestration on sheep grazing land in Australia for life cycle assessment studies (2015). CSIRO Publishing - The Rangeland Journal.
4. Carbon-neutral wool farming in South-Eastern Australia (2016). CSIRO Publishing - The Rangeland Journal.
5. Resource use and greenhouse gas emissions from three wool production regions in Australia (2016). Elsevier.
6. Review of Wool Recycling and Reuse (2016). In book: Natural Fibres: Advances in Science and Technology Towards Industrial Applications.
7. Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fibre Type (2018). MDPI Journals – Sustainability.
8. Discussion Paper: Analysis of Data and Methods applied in the SAC MSI and Associated Tools (2018). MDPI Journals – Sustainability.
9. Review of Methodological Choices in LCA-Based Textile and Apparel Rating Tools: Key Issues and Recommendations Relating to Assessment of Fabrics Made From Natural Fibre Types (2019). Sustainability.
10. Environmental impacts associated with the production, use, and end-of-life of a woollen garment (2020). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
11. Carbon myopia: The urgent need for integrated social, economic and environmental action in the livestock sector (2021). Wiley Global Change Biology.
12. Evaluating alternative environmental decision support matrices for future Higg MSI scenarios (2021). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
13. Chemical Residue Trends for Australian and New Zealand Wool (2022). Nature.
14. Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Garments through Industrially Scalable Closed‐Loop Recycling: Life Cycle Assessment of a Recycled Wool Blend Sweater (2022). MDPI Journals – Sustainability.
15. Using LCA and Circularity Indicators to Measure the Sustainability of Textiles—Examples of Renewable and Non-Renewable Fibres (2022). MDPI Journals – Sustainability.
16. Processes underpinning natural capital account compilation highlight the potential for low-input grazing to mitigate farm carbon emissions while also improving biodiversity outcomes (2023). The Rangeland Journal.
17. Natural and Sustainable? Consumers’ Textile Fiber Preferences (2023). MDPI – Fibres.
18. Modelling of on-farm greenhouse gas emissions from dual-purpose meat and wool sheep production in different geographical regions of Norway (2024). Livestock Science.

 

Microplastics and Microfibres

1. Biodegradability study on cotton and polyester fabrics (2010). Journal of Engineered Fibers and fabrics.
2. Microfibres from apparel and home textiles: Prospects for including microplastics in environmental sustainability assessment (2017). Science of the Total Environment.
3. Effects of micro-and nanoplastics on aquatic ecosystems: Current research trends and perspectives (2017). Marine pollution bulletin.
4. Microfibers generated from the laundering of cotton, rayon and polyester based fabrics and their aquatic biodegradation (2019). Marine pollution bulletin.
5. Aerobic biodegradation in freshwater and marine environments of textile microfibers generated in clothes laundering: Effects of cellulose and polyester-based microfibers on the microbiome (2020). Marine Pollution Bulletin.
6. Effect of microplastics in water and aquatic systems (2021). Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
7. Impact of dyes and finishes on the aquatic biodegradability of cotton textile fibers and microfibers released on laundering clothes: Correlations between enzyme adsorption and activity and biodegradation rates (2021). Marine Pollution Bulletin.
8. Zolotova, Natalia, et al. "Harmful effects of the microplastic pollution on animal health: a literature review (2022). PeerJ.
9. Not so biodegradable: Polylactic acid and cellulose/plastic blend textiles lack fast biodegradation in marine waters (2023). Plos one.
10. Biodegradation behavior of wool and other textile fibers in aerobic compostic conditions (2024). International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.
11. Marine Biodegradation Behavior of Wool and Other Textile Fibres (2024). International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.
12. The global apparel industry is a significant yet overlooked source of plastic leakage (2024). Nature Communications.

 

Consumer Behaviour

1. What Affects Garment Lifespans? Clothing Practices Based on a Wardrobe Survey in China, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the USA (2020). MDPI Journals – Sustainability.
2. Laundry Care Regimes: Do the Practices of Keeping Clothes Clean Have Different Environmental Impacts Based on the Fibre Content? (2020). MDPI Journals Sustainability.
3. Reducing environmental impacts from garments through best practice garment use and care, using the example of a Merino wool sweater (2021). Springer Nature.
4. A functioning ‘functional unit’? (2023). Clothing Research Oslomet.
5. Studying clothing consumption volumes through wardrobe studies: a methodological reflection (2023). The 5th Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference, Espoo: Aalto University, pp.
6. Regulating Fast Fashion out of Fashion (2023). 5th Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference, Espoo: Aalto University, pp.
7. New method to capture relationship between properties and use (2024). Clothing Research Oslomet.
8. Holding on or letting go: Conflicting narratives of product longevity (2024). Clothing Research Oslomet.
9. The Impact of Modes of Acquisition on Clothing Lifetimes (2024). Recycling and Lifetime Management in the Textile and Fashion Sector.