Eco-functional assessment

A previous LCA study conducted in 1999 noticed that the LCA studies on textiles do not include the effect of product durability or rate of use, which eventually has to come from the assessment of reusability of textiles and clothing products (Kalliala and Nousiainen, 1999). I stiU feel that the above gap identified in 1999 is not completely fulfilled by the studies completed by the successors of this LCA smdy. There are not many contributions to the scientific fraternity of textiles emphasising this point, except the eco-functional assessment methodology related contributions discussed above by the author. 

Muthu, S.S., 2011. Eco-functional Assessment of Grocery Shopping Bags (Ph.D. thesis). The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 

Muthu, S.S., Li, Y., Hu, J.Y., Mok, P.Y., 2012d. Eco-functional assessment combined with life cycle analysis concept and applications. Energy Education Science and Technology Part A 29 (1), 435-450. 

Muthu, Subramanian Senthilkannan, Li, Y., September 2013. Assessment of Environmental Impact by Grocery Shopping Bags An Eco-functional Approach. Springer,... 

The eco-toxicity and mobility of metals in the environment depends strongly on their specific chemical forms or types of binding rather than the total element contents. Consequently these have to be determined in order to assess the toxic effects and geochemical pathways. The determination of specific chemical species or binding forms is difficult and often hardly possible. Therefore, in practice determinations of broader operationally or functionally defined forms or phases can be a reasonable compromise ... 

Depending on the application that is studied, the value and impact terms in the eco-efficiency definition can be different entities. The created value can be, e.g., a provided supply, a fulfilled function, a satisfied demand, or an added value. The environmental impact can be some measure of a specific type of impact (e.g., the carbon footprint, the use of water or some other resource, or the emission of toxic compotmds to air) or an aggregated measure of environmental impact (see entries on Environmental Impact and Environmental Impact Assessment). 

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