A decision making process for sustainability in the textile sector

A growing number of textile companies are adopting sustainable principles as a way of distinguishing themselves from their competitors and gaining a competitive advantage. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a predominant methodology for the systematic evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle. However its influence and relevance for decision making is still limited since the important relationships between the economic and environmental performance are not properly addressed. In this paper, a new decision making process, exploiting the LCA methodology and combining economic and environmental aspects, is proposed.