A lifecycle and microfibre assessment has quantified the environmental footprint of a locally produced circular sportswear jersey. The analysis mapped environmental pressures across production, use, and disposal stages, showing that renewable-energy inputs, shorter transport routes, and recyclable design choices together reduced overall impact, the researchers have contended, pointing to regional manufacturing as a practical path toward cleaner textile production.
- Energy use during production (cradle-to-factory gate) was identified as a major contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions, though the total climate change impact was distributed nearly equally with the consumer-use phase.
- Shorter supply chains reduced emissions associated with fabric transport and raw-material delivery compared with global polyester production routes.
- Renewable-electricity sourcing during yarn and garment production further lowered climate-change potential across the circular-jersey scenario.
- Microfibre emissions were found to be in the same order of magnitude as damage from marine eutrophication, with most emissions resulting from waste mismanagement at the end-of-life.
- The findings have been published in Environmental Sciences Europe by Felicitas Pellengahr, Ali Ghannadzadeh and Yvonne van der Meer. The paper is titled ‘Advancing sustainability of textiles: a life cycle and microfibre emission assessment of locally manufactured circular sportswear’.
THE STUDY: The paper conducted a lifecycle assessment of a single circular cycling jersey manufactured within Europe. It also analysed hotspots and improvement scenarios for the circular jersey itself. The assessment modelled cradle-to-grave stages under European conditions, including energy inputs, transport distances, washing frequency and disposal routes, to isolate stage-wise contributions to overall climate impact.
- Microfibre emissions were modelled using established methodologies, accounting for losses during printing, washing, and from mismanaged textile waste.
- Scenario analysis tested renewable-electricity sourcing and shorter logistics to estimate how supply-chain proximity and cleaner grids would shift total burdens relative to globally sourced polyester production.
PROOF IN THE DATA: Reduced emissions were linked chiefly to upstream production choices, confirming earlier indications that material and process design drive measurable environmental gains. Production and use phases contributed nearly equally to the overall climate impact, with production slightly higher in several categories.
- Manufacturing energy use was a major contributor, and renewable-electricity substitution was one of the most effective strategies for reducing the climate-change potential.
- Shorter transport routes further reduced distribution-related emissions, reinforcing the benefit of supply-chain proximity noted earlier.
- The use of recycled PET (rPET) from bottle waste was a key circularity choice, though the study did not specifically measure its effect on microfibre shedding compared to virgin PET.
- Consumer-care scenarios illustrated how laundering practices can affect overall results, a point later developed in the discussion of behavioural factors.
- Comparative results confirmed that regional manufacturing coupled with circular-design principles can simultaneously lower carbon intensity and fibre pollution, based on the assumption of equivalent garment function.
BASELINE IMPACTS AND WASTE HOTSPOTS: The circular jersey's total climate change burden was 3.13 kg CO₂-eq. for its functional unit, a figure primarily driven by production and consumer use. The study isolated the production and use phases as the largest environmental hotspots, with transportation processes contributing only 2.8% of the total climate change burden. Garment assembly was identified as the main Global Warming Potential (GWP) contributor within the production stage.
- Sublimation printing, an energy-intensive process, accounts for nearly half (46.0%) of the garment assembly's Global Warming Potential burden.
- Impacts resulting from marine microplastics were found to be comparable to damage caused by marine eutrophication.
- Microplastic emissions into the marine environment largely result from mismanaged textile waste at the product's end-of-life stage.
- In the Netherlands' current waste system, 55% of textile waste is incinerated, with only 45% collected separately for sorting.
- Of the textiles collected separately, approximately 52% are reused and 31% are successfully recycled into new applications.
MITIGATION POTENTIAL BY SCENARIO: Scenario analysis highlighted that changes in consumer behaviour offer greater environmental mitigation potential than manufacturing alternatives. The greatest overall GWP reduction was achieved by combining proximity manufacturing with substantial use phase improvements. Some manufacturer efforts, such as relocating production to Portugal (S_M2), provided a modest 14.3% Global Warming Potential reduction, while others showed greater potential. This confirms the critical need to engage consumers for achieving significant environmental gains.
- If the household uses roof-top solar panels during the use phase, the overall Global Warming Potential reduces by 72.7%.
- Customers avoiding the use of a tumble dryer when cleaning the jersey results in a 20.9% reduction in GWP impact.
- Chemical recycling as an end-of-life management option yields the lowest mitigation potential, reducing GWP by only 4.9%.
- Combining proximity manufacturing with use phase improvements achieved the highest total GWP reduction potential of 43.9%.
- Shifting production electricity to hydro power in the Czech Republic offers a major 29.6% GWP reduction.
MAKING CHANGE WORK: The authors have suggested that the promise of circular sportswear depends as much on structural reform as on technical design. While near-market manufacturing lowers impacts, progress ultimately hinges on cleaner energy grids, consistent consumer practices, and investment in regional production capacity. Their results implied that localisation is effective only when systemic and behavioural elements evolve together.
- The researchers observed that renewable-energy transition across Europe would determine the scale of emission reductions achievable through circular manufacturing initiatives.
- Consumer behaviour, particularly frequent laundering and low garment reuse, continued to offset upstream improvements in climate and microfibre performance.
- Policymakers were encouraged to integrate textile-specific carbon-accounting and microfibre metrics into broader sustainability-reporting frameworks for apparel companies.
- The paper concluded that circular-design adoption should advance alongside legislative incentives, investment in recycling technology, and clearer communication of care practices to consumers.
