DOI
10.1525/cse.2019.002006

Summary
This paper is in the form of a case study and utilises a methodology typically used for identifying issues with materials in a supply chain life cycle assessment (LCA) and demonstrates how the methodology can made spatially explicit for water footprints. Vos states that water should be represented spatially, as the same amount of water in dryer climates will cause greater ecological damage than that of wetter climates. The life cycle of a pair of jeans were assessed, including the growth of the cotton, production of the fabric and other materials for the company Guess?, Inc.,. The author begins by introducing background literature on freshwater scarcity and how it affects the sustainable living of societies and ecosystems in places where raw materials are sourced. Vos compares the use of two methods for measuring the impacts on freshwater resources in consumer products – LCA and water footprint assessment (WFA). LCA looks at a product from ‘cradle to grave’ assessing all stages of the production. WFA specialises in the measuring of water used in product production and usually only considers stages of production up to the consumer obtaining the product. Vos provides further analysis of the literature related to LCA and WFA individually. Vos utilises a hybrid approach consisting of the two methods. The adaptation of these methods are presented in table 1, summarising the dimensions of both LCA and WFA under the required dimensions for analysis of the Guess?, Inc. product and how both dimensions can hybridised. 

Vos goes on to describe the specific process of executing the case study, drawing the reader’s attention multiple tables containing assessment results.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
This study is relevant to sustainability of the apparel sector and contributes to complex systems knowledge of production and freshwater availability.

The description of both LCA and WFA are inherently relevant to complex systems knowledge as they require the user to analyse the desired product in an interdisciplinary fashion. Vos describe his process of hybridising the two methods to better suit the purpose of the study. The hybrid method is presented in table 1 and could prove useful for further studies.

 

Point of Strength
This publication could be used as a case study example for a sustainable development module or in an environmental and business studies context. The methodology used for the lifecycle assessment of the particular product could be replicated for another product specifically in a business context. The use of GIS and product water footprint assessment would play into the learning outcomes of an environmental module.

The paper highlights and compares the use LCA and WFA – these could be utilised in student learning activities. LCA and WFA are reviewed in depth for their application to this study. These sections may be relevant to the teaching of either method.