Textile and apparel industrial processes generate a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions, which is a severe environmental issue for China. Aiming at greenhouse reduction, a carbon footprint calculation method is presented. In carbon footprint calculations, allocation methodology is among the most significant and controversial issues; it can be a major reason for the LCA uncertainty and robustness caused. What is more, allocation methodology impacts directly on the preparation of data collection and system boundary. Different outcomes can be achieved even for apparently similar systems by using a different allocation approach. Textile production has a large range of production process. During textile production process, it may be a single product production with co-products. The current CF calculation only evaluates GHGs emissions at product or plant level, so the difference of the technology on different processes cannot be deduced. Hence, the choice of proper allocation methodology is a crucial issue to be considered in textile and apparel industry. In this paper, based on characteristics of textile and apparel industry, process-level allocation methodology in textile and apparel industry was put forward. The application of allocation methodology was investigated and analyzed with a case study on cotton T-shirts. Firstly, case study results show that greenhouse gases of the ironing and sewing process are the two largest emissions (ironing, 40.82%, and sewing, 34.85%, respectively). Energy-saving refrigeration equipment needs to be chosen to reduce the greenhouse gases significantly. Secondly, for most processes, CF of S2 (auxiliary CF) accounts for the highest proportion of total CF. Preferred to S1, more attention should be paid to reduce the S2 emissions. Thirdly, GHGs emissions of the polo shirt in the sewing process are significantly higher than that of the T-shirt in the sewing stage (T-shirt, 0.167 kg CO₂ eq/piece, and polo shirt, 0.371 kg CO₂ eq/piece, respectively). This is the consequence that polo shirt’s style and structure determine the complexity of its sewing process. Finally, based on the pearson correlation coefficient, T-shirt production (kg) has a significant negative linear correlation (correlation coefficient: −0.868) with the CF (kg CO₂ eq/kg T-shirts), the similar with that (correlation coefficient: −0.963) of all production. Improving the textile and garment production efficiency is significant to reduce the CF of products (per mass) by technological innovation and management optimization. In this study, we demonstrate that the process-level allocation is a feasible method, and can serve as the basis for a textile-specific allocation approach in LCA. Process-level allocation may help to address textile allocation problems and might lead to more detailed LCA results for products. We recommend broad applications and testing of this new allocation approach.

During the growth of biomass, there are two carbon storage paths for plant-derived fibers. One path is to assimilate carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and temporarily store it in textile plants. Besides, the carbon can be captured and stored in soil. The carbon storage capacity of textile products made from plant-derived fibers such as cotton, flax, hemp, kenaf and bamboo fiber, etc., is a non-negligible part of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting. However, there is a lack of systematic methods to evaluate carbon storage and the delayed emission effect of plant-derived fibers. In this study, the carbon storage and emission times of 100% hemp T-shirt, 100% hemp slipcover, and 100% hemp fiber handicraft were evaluated by using the soil organic carbon method, dry weight biomass method, and modeling method. The results revealed that the CO₂ storage of 1 kg hemp fiber is 1.833 kg. Meanwhile, the delayed emission effects of carbon temporarily stored in the 3 kinds of hemp fiber products are 3.83%, 19.68%, and 41.12% at different lifespans (i.e., 5, 25, or 50 years), in which case the landfill option for hemp fiber products may be preferable from carbon storage effect perspective. The results suggest that plant-derived fibers have a positive impact on climate change due to CO₂ storage, and that the carbon storage effect improves with the continued lifespan of the product. By quantifying carbon storage and the delayed emission effect of plant-derived fibers, it is beneficial to understand the potential for reducing carbon emissions, which in turn helps to promote and develop more environmentally friendly and low-carbon production processes and products.

In this study, to accurately calculate the carbon footprint of silk products, key issues were analysed and discussed, including accounting boundary, accounting data, sequestration of greenhouse gases (GHG) and calculation of results. The results support the feasibility of "cradle to gate" or "gate to gate" as the accounting boundary for the carbon footprint of silk products. Accordingly, the quality of accounting data may be improved by determining the key emission sources of GHG within the accounting boundary, selecting the appropriate data allocation methods and maintaining the consistency of the allocation methods within the accounting boundary when necessary. The GHG sequestration of silk is explained separately in the results, which report on the carbon footprint of silk products. The carbon-neutral actions taken by silk enterprises are also discussed and quantified in the results of the carbon footprint calculation. Ultimately, it is found that a consistent accounting boundary and emission factors constitute two key prerequisites for the feasibility of carbon footprint quantification of various silk products.

In recent years, there has been a surge in interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, prompting a need for systematic review and analysis of existing literature to address research limitations and identify future directions. This paper presents a bibliometric and content analysis of 2077 academic works in both Chinese and English languages. Drawing from data sourced from China Knowledge Network and Web of Science databases, this analysis spans the periods of 2012 to 2023 and 2007 to 2023, examining studies from local and global perspectives. Utilizing CiteSpace, the study explores keyword frequency, cluster view, and timeline view to elucidate progress and frontiers in ESG research. Findings reveal four primary themes: “ESG disclosure,” “corporate financial performance,” “ESG investment,” and “corporate sustainable development strategy.” Local literature emphasizes corporate ESG disclosure, while global literature focuses on corporate sustainability from entrepreneurial and investor perspectives. The study’s implications include global trends such as robust information disclosure systems, green finance advancement, ESG practice promotion, and refining stakeholder-corporate sustainable development relationships and ESG performance research. This study uniquely reviews ESG topics from dual perspectives, providing insight into literature evolution, research content, and avenues for future exploration in ESG.