Earth resources – a factor of time : A comparison between cotton and viscose

Consumption continues to grow, while warnings persist about the fact that more isbeing consumed than the Earth is capable of yielding. This growth in consumption isclearly exemplified in the textile industry, which doubled global fibre productionbetween the years 2000 and 2020, while the population growth was 27% (The WorldBank, 2022). The textile industry is not limited to fashion; it has a wide range ofapplications and sources. However, all materials and industries come with their ownenvironmental challenges, such as land use, water consumption and chemical release,which all have an impact on nature. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method used tomeasure and compare these challenges between products. One of the resources that ismeasured is biodiversity, which is affected by land use. Various models to measurethese effects have been developed by researchers such as Lindeijer (2000), Milá i Canalset al. (2007) and Koellner & Scholz (2008).This study aims to evaluate the effects on the land's ability to reproduce itself bycomparing the plants that can produce two common textile fibres from two types ofland: cotton from agricultural land and viscose from forestry land. The study analysesthe resources required and determines which fibre is the most sustainable in terms ofresource extraction in land, water and chemical use.Two LCA methods were chosen. The primary method is based on data selected by theauthor through literature studies, conversations and statistics, termed the ExplorativeLCA. The second method, the benchmark method, utilized a standardized databaseLCA provided by Ecoinvent, ReCePi and Simapro named Database LCA. The resultsobtained from the two methods stated significant and unexpected differences,encouraging the need for a more in-depth analysis to understand the reasons behindthem.According to the Exploratory LCA the results of the thesis and research questionsindicate that cotton is the preferable fibre compared to viscose. Conversely, theDatabase LCA presents the opposite findings. The results of the method analysisindicate that the integration of different plant cycles was not taken into account. Thisfinding leads the author to strongly recommend to further investigate this limitation2023-10-11