Life cycle assessment of a textile industry for environmental impacts under alternative operational scenarios

Pakistan's fresh water supply declined significantly from 5,260 to 1,014 m³/person/year between 1950 and 2018. Water-intensive operations of the textile industry further aggravate this fresh water scarcity by contributing significant pollution. This study uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to examine the environmental effects of textile production with emphasis on human health, resources, and ecosystem. Potential sustainable solutions are offered by innovations like energy efficiency techniques and closed-loop water recycling systems. Environmental trade-offs in this study are measured between energy optimization and water recycling. Effects such as resource depletion (RD), global warming potential (GWP), and eutrophication potential (EP) are evaluated. The efficacy of these integrated techniques is demonstrated in results. Energy optimization and integrated solutions reduce GWP by 30.7 and 33.1%, respectively, and water consumption by 43.6 and 43.9%, respectively. However, these approaches also result in trade-offs, including increased freshwater ecotoxicity and depletion of fossil resources. In summary, combining renewable energy with water recycling has significant environmental advantages, but long-term sustainability necessitates rigorous trade-off management and optimization. The textile sector should adopt similar circular economy strategies, supported by robust data collection and monitoring frameworks.