NDLI: LCA and ecodesign in the toy industry: case study of a teddy bear incorporating electric and electronic components

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Muñoz, Ivan Gazulla, Cristina Bala, Alba Puig, Rita Fullana, Pere
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) of a toy incorporating electric and electronic components is carried out following the ISO 14044 standard, with the purpose of identifying the environmental hotspots and suggesting ecodesign measures to the manufacturer.The product under study is a teddy bear which sings songs and tells stories while moving its body, using conventional alkaline batteries as a source of energy. This toy is designed by a Spanish company, but manufactured entirely in China, from where it is exported to Europe, America, and Africa. The LCA study includes production of all components in China, maritime and road distribution, use phase, and end-of-life. Life cycle impact assessment is focused on five standard impact categories from the CML 2001 method.The use phase is identified as potentially the most important life cycle stage, due to the impact of battery production. It is responsible for 50% to 64% of the overall life cycle impact, depending on the impact category. Toy production is also an important stage, with 28% to 34% of the total contribution. Maritime distribution also involves relevant contributions in some impact categories. Based on the results of the study, a set of ecodesign measures were suggested to the manufacturer, with most of them being judged as feasible, and applied in a new product.Important data gaps were encountered during the study, especially concerning the use phase, due to lack of data on consumer behavior, and background inventory data on alkaline battery production. A sensitivity analysis applied to the use phase showed that the relative importance of this life cycle stage is strongly affected by the assumptions made in this work.The LCA study was found as a very helpful tool to define ecodesign measures for this product. Several measures suggested have been actually implemented by the manufacturer in a similar product.This case study, together with others, will help in the long run to define general ecodesign measures for the toy sector in Catalonia.
Starting Page	64
Ending Page	72
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09483349
Journal	The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Volume Number	14
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	16147502
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2008-12-04
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Batteries Ecodesign Electric and electronic components Life cycle assessment Teddy bear Toys Environmental Economics Environment
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Environmental Science

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
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