A novel approach to normalize the environmental impacts of textile products to support decision making

Purpose While various regional evaluation models are available for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), there is often a lack of systematic and reliable normalization approaches. This issue is particularly relevant for the textile industry in China, known for its significant production and environmental burden. Design/methodology/approach Normalization, a crucial step in LCIA, is frequently affected by uncertainty and subjectivity. This study addresses these issues by proposing a per-capita baseline normalization method specifically for textile products in China. Using 2019 as the reference year, the study evaluates three endpoint impact categories: 7.61 × 10–2 DALY for human health, 1.57 × 10–4 species.yr for ecosystem impacts and 1.38 × 103 USD for resource availability. Findings These localized baselines reflect the unique aspects of textile production, allowing for precise calculations of environmental impacts, including pollutant emissions, energy consumption and resource use. The model was applied to a case study of silk apparel LCIA, revealing that resource availability had the highest impact score, followed by ecosystem and human health impacts. The sensitivity of the model to variations in normalization baselines highlights its precision. Originality/value This sector-specific approach improves localization and accuracy in environmental impact assessments, facilitating comparability among local textile products and supporting informed decision-making.