Session: LCA Studies

Life Cycle Analysis of Disposable and Reusable Healthcare Garments
Celia Steward Ponder,^*   North Carolina State University
Michael Overcash,   Raleigh, North Carolina

Garments are used in hospitals as patient gowns, surgical gowns, isolation gowns, and drapes and are worn to protect patients and healthcare workers from infection due to contact with fluids containing microbes that cause infection. These garments must be water repellent, but also comfortable for the wearer. Reusable, cloth woven gowns were originally used, but as concerns for infection grew and disposable fabrics became available, the market shifted from reusable to disposable garments. Disposable garments are used once, discarded, and usually incinerated, causing society to view these as more sanitary than reusable gowns, even though infection rates are similar. Disposable garments, however, are usually made of polyester that is derived from nonrenewable fossil fuels, and disposal generates waste. The reusable garment is used multiple times and is made with cotton that is a biodegradable and renewable resource. The laundering process will use additional energy and will generate wastewater. With the addition of a biocidal coating to the reusable garment, infection rates may be lowered, and the environmental impact of the garment may be reduced. Life cycle assessments should be used during the product design phase to optimize production to make a product with fewer impacts to the environment including energy use, air, water, and land emissions. The intent of this body of work is to compare processes using a life cycle assessment and recommend viable alternatives to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and resource usage.

The process design-based method is used to generate inventories for each unit process in the cradle-to-gate production of the hospital gowns and for laundering the reusable gowns. The cradle-to-gate inventories show that production of the reusable gown used more than four times the energy compared to production of the disposable gown. In the production chain of the reusable gown, production of the fabric was the largest consumer of energy, followed by yarn and then cotton growing. Also, more raw materials are used, and more emissions are generated. However, this life cycle analysis compares 75 disposable gowns to 1 reusable gown used 75 times. When the use phase is factored in, energy usage for the reusable gown is decreased.

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