Page 323 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

298 Cha pte r Six t ee n

Another example is an LCA performed by K-C of its full range of
tissue products and associated manufacturing processes to gain insight
into the life-cycle environmental implications of the use of virgin ver-
sus recycled fibers as raw materials. This study scrupulously followed
the ISO process and was validated by an expert review panel. How-
ever, Spitzley argues that for routine internal applications of LCA, it is
preferable to use less burdensome, more streamlined methods that can
provide rapid feedback to product development teams (see Chapter 9).
In the health and hygiene category, disposable baby wipes are
a great example of a product that requires careful consideration of
sustainability issues. On the one hand, the wipes provide important
benefits to families in terms of sanitation and convenience. On the
other hand, they are immediately disposed of after use and embody
a considerable throughput of water, materials, and energy. To exam-
ine these trade-offs more rigorously, the Huggies Baby Wipes team
used life-cycle assessment as a means of integrating proactive en -
vironmental considerations into new product designs. The results
helped to identify the potential impact of design changes, such as the
trade-off between basis weight and polymer content changes. Figure
16.3 illustrates the reductions in life-cycle environmental burdens that
were achieved by a proposed new design.
Looking to the Future
According to Ken Strassner, Vice President for Global Environmental,
Safety, Regulatory, and Scientific Affairs, “Design for Environment
will continue to be an important area of activity for Kimberly-Clark
because it can be a point of differentiation for us and can help deliver

FIGURE 16.3 Relative life-cycle performance of Baby Wipes proposed design
versus current baseline.