Environmental assessment of cotton textile production in Peru: A case study for a cotton T-shirt

The objective of the study is to evaluate the environmental impacts of textiles produced in Peru using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. For this, a T-shirt made from cotton is chosen, where the cotton production and the manufacturing take place in Peru, while the use and end-of-life phase is located in the US as the main market. Five impact categories were assessed using the Sphera software, the Ecoinvent database, primary data obtained from each participating company, and relevant information from the literature. Characterization methods employed include CLM-2001, Recipe 2016, AWARE, and updated water scarcity characterization factors specific to Peruvian watersheds. The results show that the most contributing processes are the cotton production and the use phase; strongly linked to the energy mix, fertilizers and water use. For the AP and POCP categories, 43 % and 27 % of the impacts, respectively, result from the use of fertilizers in cotton production. Regarding GWP, 36 % of impacts are associated with the use of the garment, primarily due to the energy required for drying. Similarly, the EP category is also influenced by the energy demand for the drying of the garment, contributing 47 % to overall impacts. For the WSF category, 97 % of impacts are associated with water use for the irrigation of the cotton fields. The scenarios analyses showcase the significant influence of temporal and regional variability in cotton production on environmental impacts, while reducing the use of a tumble dryer has a much smaller effect. The Peruvian electric grid's 51 % reliance on hydropower energy shows environmental benefits throughout the T-shirt production, while customer behavior and geographical location highly influence the environmental impacts of the use phase. Extending the lifespan of the garment and adopting recycling strategies could reduce the overall environmental impacts of the T-shirt's lifecycle.