Evaluation of the environmental sustainability of a flax spinning process through life cycle assessment: an Italian case study

The textile industry is a major contributor to the global economy, but it is also energy, emission, and material-intensive, leading to several environmental challenges. With rising energy costs, strict environmental regulations, and an uncertain context, it is paramount for textile companies to fully comprehend their environmental impact in order to improve their long-term sustainability level. It is widely recognized that the use of organic natural fibers could have a positive impact on this aspect. Among others, flax fiber is becoming increasingly popular due to the growing awareness of its environmentally sustainable nature. For instance, it requires little rainwater to grow, requires few inputs, and its harvesting and processing do not generate waste. To truly achieve sustainability goals, it is crucial to understand the actual environmental impact of the whole flax spinning process. Nevertheless, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies have been conducted on this topic. To fill this gap, the current paper analyzes the flax spinning process of Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale Srl Società Benefit, a leading company in this industry, by leveraging the life cycle assessment developed through the SimaPro software. Specifically, a ‘gate-to-gate’ approach was used considering a functional unit of 1 kg of finished 100% linen yarn. The primary data were gathered through on-site investigation and the environmental impacts were assessed using the ReCiPe (H) method. The results demonstrate that the flax spinning process drastically impacts on Human health protection area and that the most impacted midpoints are freshwater ecotoxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and freshwater eutrophication. Finally, the identified environmental hotspots are useful to shed light on potential opportunities for improvement from the manufacturer’s perspective.