GaBi's textile finishing extension database for LCA analysis

Measurement is the first step to take in order to start a circular transition. In the textile production industry, there are so many processes available and measuring one's impact or selecting a new technique for a manufacturer can be tricky. When designing a product, companies, and especially manufacturers, need to take into account many aspects of their production line: What fabric is going to be used ? How much is going to be used? Which dyeing process will be selected? All these decisions are fundamental in order to diminish the environmental impact of the textile industry, and the information concerning the impacts related to each option needs to be available.

In order to plan the impacts and compare different processes, companies can perform Life-Cycle Analysis evaluations, which will permit to create different scenarios of production and elect the right one for their needs and ambitions. This analysis should be led during the design stage, and provided to manufacturers in order to cover all the aspects of the production of the textile.

GaBi provides within its Life Cycle Assessment solution a textile finishing extension database. This database covers a wide variety of processes and materials used within the textile industry (Pre-treatment (dry processes such as singeing, or wet processes like desizing, bleaching and scouring), dyeing and/or printing (e.g. acids, cationic, direct, disperse, and reactive dyes), finishing, fabrics information).

With this tool, companies are able to better estimate their environmental impact and choose wisely the direction they want to take on their circular transition.