Empowering Eco-Friendly Choices: An Environmental Impact Assessment Decision Support System for Textiles and Clothing

Abstract

The textile and clothing industry is one of the industries with the highest environmental impact, with a huge amount of waste during the product life cycle. However, there are few tools available for companies to assess the environmental impact of their production process. In this way, a decision support system was developed so that producers can calculate the environmental impact associated with the textile and clothing production process, with the main objective of helping producers and, consequently, consumers to make environmentally conscious decisions given the increasingly demanding market. The methodology of this study integrated the accounting of a set of indicators, allowing producers to calculate the environmental impact associated with the textile and clothing production process. The decision support system returns, depending on the results of the calculations of the indicators, different ecolabels that allow consumers to compare different products based on their environmental performance. In short, the study in question allows us to contribute to environmentally conscious decision making, both for the producer and the consumer, to promote sustainable practices in the textile and clothing industry. The decision support system is flexible and adaptable for different companies and industries in order to meet their needs and improve their environmental performance.