ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case in which environmental life-cycle design tools were used extensively during the development of a new textile fabric for office interiors. The case exemplifies the spirit of several frameworks for ISO 14001, life-cycle assessment (LCA) and life-cycle development (LCD). McDonough's design protocols specified requirements for the design of the fabric that was very different from Lyons's and Kalin's original perceptions of what these requirements should be. LCD is a redesign of established procedures for conducting a LCA. Life-cycle cost accounting attempts to describe all costs associated with the design, production, use and disposal or re-use stages of a product. Climatex Lifecycle was able to produce a market sensation that customers responded to positively, and competing firms were unable to offer quick alternatives, giving Rohner Textil and DesignTex a competitive edge in the marketplace. Aligning the network members according to a common strategy was fundamental to integrating the environmental design tools.
