It is critically important to improve the metrics used for quantifying environmental impact indicators, especially related to the variety of factors that influence the environmental sustainability of forest products, a study that looked at potential non-climate environmental impacts of wood-based textile fibres has contended.
- Standard LCA (lifecycle assessment) studies that are used to quantify environmental impacts do not represent realistic scenarios for natural systems such as forests, requiring a rethinking of the applicability of these LCA impact assessment methods, indicators, and their metrics, it said.
- The report Wood-based textiles & modern wood buildings: Environmental impacts beyond climate change has been released by the European Forest Institute (EFI). It is based on comparative LCA studies and interviews with experts. The study examined two sectors: wood-based textile fibres and modern wood buildings.
- The authors were Timokleia Orfanidou, Mariana Hassegawa, Pekka Leskinen, Herbert Sixta, Pekka Oinas and Giuseppe Cardellini.
The Other Lessons: The two other takeaways were:
- There is a need to invest in R&D to support the development of sustainable materials and circularity of new wood-based products over their entire lifecycle. Environmental sustainability considerations and circularity need to be incorporated in the early stages of product design. The reduction of harsh chemical use and a reduction of the overall chemical input is key.
- Investment in technologies to further improve energy efficiency, thus further reducing the reliance on fossil energy is required. The energy mix used in product manufacturing is an important factor that contributes to improving the environmental profile of both industries. Preference should be given to renewable energy sources in the production processes, especially opting for non-woody biomass. Wood should be preferably used as a raw material for products rather than for energy in the production process.
The Handicaps: Limitations identified for the use of wood-based textile fibres are:
- Pending approval of alternative solvents to reduce the environmental impacts.
- Lack of cost competitiveness for most ionic liquids compared to other solvents (in part due to limited production and consumption).
- Difficulty to adopt changes for large manufacturing companies due to the scale and complexity of their value chains.
- Fashion industry acceptance constrained as new wood-based fibres have different properties to traditional fibres, especially if producers do not work closely with designers and clothing brands.
- Business model change needed, as current consumerism driven by “fast fashion” stimulates the notion of garment disposability, resulting in increasing volumes of waste.
- Constrained consumer acceptance regarding limited options being environmentally friendly and increased price for more sustainable alternatives.
What Emerged from the Report: The key messages include the following:
- Invest in the management of chemicals used in textile fibre production by avoiding or considerably reducing the use of harmful chemicals, revamping the production process, and adopting circularity to minimise the generation of toxic wastewater.
- Integrate man-made cellulosic fibre mills with pulp mills to improve energy self-sufficiency given that modern pulp mills produce an excess of energy from side streams and waste. A resulting decreased use of fossil fuels can considerably lower the environmental impacts.
- Blend different natural textile fibres, such as cotton with wood-based fibres to help improve fibre recyclability and, thus, reduce waste. Blending natural with synthetic fibres makes recyclability difficult and costly. Hence, textile companies should carefully consider which fibres are to mix.
- New wood-based textile fibres are not meant to be direct substitutes for existing fibres. Future studies should take into consideration the differences in properties of wood-based textile fibres and their non-wood counterparts, as well as the uncertainty in their market uptake when performing calculations on substitution factors and market projections.
- Calculations on substitution factors should consider which are the alternative wood-based fibres that could technically be considered equivalent to the fibres being displaced, based on available evidence.
Gaps Need to be Filled: The study identified two important gaps that should be narrowed to improve the accuracy of environmental impact assessments:
- Data for wood-based textile fibres is scarce and incomplete: Data to perform LCAs of wood- based textile fibres, both from more established technologies (e.g., lyocell) and from newer technologies, are scarce. In addition, databases are incomplete, either not available or only partially available in certain countries (e.g., Asian countries), which adds uncertainty to the results of environmental impact assessments.
- Information gap for wood-based textile fibres: There is a lack of information regarding the technical aspects of the production processes (e.g., input and recovery of chemicals), durability and life expectancy of modern wood-based fibres, as many technologies have not yet reached the market. This gap is likely to be filled as these technologies become available in the market, but for now it hinders a more thorough assessment of their possible environmental impacts.
What They Said:
We should always consider the environmental sustainability of the products throughout their life cycle, regardless of whether the feedstock is derived from renewable sources. Both wood-based textiles and modern wood buildings have grown in popularity in recent years, for a number of reasons, but we should not overlook the environmental impacts that can arise in addition to climate change.
— Timokleia Orfanidou
Junior Researcher, Bioeconomy Programme
European Forest Institute
Several initiatives to develop wood-based textiles and modern engineered wood products are currently underway. The recent boost in the construction of modern wood buildings is evidence of the interest in choosing alternatives to fossil-based and non-renewable materials. We expect that the increase in popularity of these solutions stimulates more investments towards the development of wood-based products with even smaller environmental impacts.
— Mariana Hassegawa
Researcher, Bioeconomy Programme
European Forest Institute
