European companies and consumers do not only care for quality and costs of products but also for environmental impacts associated with textile processing. Although quality of the individual process technology is well known, communication based on technical specifications along the value added chain is poor. A system of Textile Specifications including product quality would provide a database for the required information in product development. On the other hand the method of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has recently been developed for calculation of environmental impacts. LCA bases on inventory data (LCI) including all inputs and outputs in a products lifecycle. This paper investigates if a common database for communication (TS) and LCA including costs can be generated. TS were elaborated as indicators by a group of researcher in textile technology, including production of raw material (cotton, polyester, polyamide and viscose), yarn production, fabric production, finishing and manufacturing. The proposals for LCA modeling are based on modern process technology, comparable values for consumer’s use and feasible costs in production. This inventory was elaborated by means of computer software, easy case, allowing connecting all flows of material, energy and information. The selected products are Jeans and T-Shirt (ladies outerwear) made of cotton and synthetic fibers. Modeling includes transportation, spinning, weaving and finishing of Swiss fabrics. Since energy use was supposed to be of great importance, different process technologies in cotton production, spinning and weaving were elaborated and their cost as well environmental impacts were compared.

The study shows, that textile specifications can be used as a common base for communication as well as for calculation of process costs and environmental impacts (LCA), indicating also the relation between the two of them. However, the inventory for LCA of products may require more detailed information if it is based on processes of individual machinery.

LCA Results show that transportation as well as the energy prime source cause a major impact, followed by process technology and tissue construction: The production of a tissue with high warp density causes only two third of the impacts of a tissue with high filling density. The impacts can be lowered, if OE spinning technology is used. Knitting technology causes a very low impact, whereby the lower fabric weight has to be taken into account.

Costs are mainly influenced by the degree of automation achieved in the company. Generally a reduction in cost also means a reduction of environmental impacts. The opening of the European energy market might result in lower costs, but higher environmental impacts.