Taking stock of the share of global environmental burden of knitwear production in Bangladesh: Constructing the life cycle inventory

The textile industry significantly contributes to global environmental deterioration. Bangladesh, as a top knit-wear exporter also plays a part in this degradation. Globally, there is a lack of readily available life cycle in-ventory (LCI) data that could be utilized to make decisions for minimizing environmental impact from this sector. Our endeavor is an attempt to address this lacuna. The study adopts a life cycle approach to evaluate the environmental impacts as well as the water footprint of the Bangladeshi textile industry with a particular focus on knitwear through rigorous field surveys and expert interviews. The assessment for both environmental impact and water footprint singled out fiber production to be responsible for most environmental externalities. The study also calculated the environmental impact of using alternative fiber such as organic cotton, recycled polyester, and recycled cotton and compared it to the existing practice of knitwear production; results of which indicate that employing alternative fiber was not only less damaging to the environment but also was economically more beneficial. Furthermore, the study analyzes three decades of revenue and emission data to project greenhouse gas (GHG) emission probability of the textile industry till 2030 for both business-as-usual scenario and alternative practices (alternative fiber composition). The projection shows that adopting alterna-tive practices can decrease the GHG emission potential of current practices by 32%-82%. Additionally, the study provides an exhaustive LCI for knitwear production which can be used for further development of sustainable solutions and practices of the global textile industry.

Automated summary

The textile industry has a significant impact on global environmental deterioration, with Bangladesh as a major contributor. There is a lack of available life cycle inventory (LCI) data globally to make informed decisions on minimizing environmental impact from the textile industry. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the environmental impacts and water footprint of the Bangladeshi textile industry, specifically focusing on knitwear, through field surveys and expert interviews. The study identifies fiber production as the main driver of environmental externalities and shows that alternative fibers, such as organic cotton and recycled materials, have lower environmental impacts and economic benefits compared to current practices. The study also projects the greenhouse gas emission potential of the textile industry in various scenarios, highlighting the potential for significant reduction through alternative practices.