Ecolabelling in textile industry: A review

Abstract

As informed decision making has become one of the key attributes in the modern economy which is driven by sustainable production and consumption, assessment of the present situation and providing future recommendations in the area of textile ecolabelling can be considered highly significant. Therefore, this review aimed at assessing the attributes of textile ecolabels that are currently applied around the world, identify current trends in textile ecolabelling, and propose recommendations for future research in the area. A comprehensive literature review on textile ecolabelling was performed by accessing the world’s largest ecolabelling database “Ecolabel Index” by reviewing 107 ecolabels that are currently applied in the textile industry. The present review highlights the importance of focusing on regional or ‘gate-to-gate’ ecolabelling frameworks for the textile industry, due to the outspread nature of the product manufacturing life cycle that covers a range of geographical regions.

Keywords

• Ecolabels
• Textile industry
• Sustainable consumption
• Life cycle impacts