scholarly journals Consumer Motivation and Environmental Impact of Laundry Machine-Sharing: Analysis of Surveys in Tokyo and Bangkok

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9756
Author(s):  
Dami Moon ◽  
Eri Amasawa ◽  
Masahiko Hirao

A sharing economy is an alternative system that enables pro-environmental behavior by improving efficiency through product-sharing. However, some motivations and requirements for doing laundry can increase the environmental burden, which suggests that the laundry machine (LM) sharing is not necessarily sustainable. This study clarifies consumer motivations for laundry usage and assesses the feasibility of environmentally sustainable laundry behavior through LM-sharing. Consumer surveys were conducted in Tokyo and Bangkok with different LM-ownership proportions. Single-person households were targeted, reflecting Tokyo’s demographic situation. A scenario analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of routine laundry behavior changes on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Three main results emerged. First, Tokyo respondents used a coin-operated laundry machine (CL) for convenience, which private washers cannot provide, while Bangkok respondents used it for basic laundry needs. Consequentially, the Tokyo respondents, who used CLs, were responsible for more than three times the GHG emissions of Bangkok respondents. Second, the group using both private LM and CL was the least GHG-efficient group, regardless of region. Third, laundry behavior can reduce GHG emissions if consumer requirements are decreased. The results show that there is environmental significance in adopting LM-sharing for sustainable consumption and production systems that reflect regional characteristics.

2019 ◽  
Vol 208 ◽  
pp. 1148-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuge Ma ◽  
Ke Rong ◽  
Yining Luo ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Diana Mangalagiu ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dami Moon ◽  
Eri Amasawa ◽  
Masahiko Hirao

This study aimed to define the use of product–service system (PSS) associated with laundry businesses, such as coin-operated self-service laundromats (CL) and laundry services (LS), in order to get a better understanding of the environmental implications of PSS in laundry habits in Bangkok, Thailand. The motivation to use PSS could vary according to the specific consumer needs often defined by cultures, and therefore the environmental impacts from the PSS use would result differently from country to country. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with Bangkok residents to determine the laundry habits related to the use of PSS. As a result, the use of private washing machines (PW) was found to be the main option, and CL and LS were used as an additional option in the laundry habits. The most widely observed use pattern in Bangkok was the use of CL as an alternative to PW instead of buying a new machine for a new life in dormitories or other residences away from home. At that time, hand washing (HW) was also used for saving money and for the cleanliness. Regarding the environmental potential, the relationship between the PSS users and laundry habits was specifically analyzed. The group who uses PSS frequently tended to do laundry less often than those who only use PW. Meanwhile, the need for even more services is also expected to increase among the PSS users. The need to improve the quality of laundry is expected to increase with the improvement of quality of living in Bangkok in the near future. However, at the same time, these observations imply that a change of consumer behaviors related to the use of PSS determines the resulting energy consumption and environmental burdens. To further clarify sustainable consumption and production systems, a quantitative analysis of the environmental impact of the laundry habits remains as a future task.


Author(s):  
Tosin Kolajo Gbadegesin

Food security is of great importance in the politics of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) because of its implication on environment and people. The changing climate is adding to world resource problems such as food security, water scarcity, pollution, soil degradation, etc. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use demand by agriculture has continued to influence what people quantity and quality of available food. This review used resources from all relevant literatures to examine impact of changing climate on sustainable food consumption by identifying effect of changing climate on nutrition, food production, and food consumption, and provides recommendations on sustainable food consumption measures. The review is of the opinion that food consumption patterns are changing in the face of population growth, economic development, and environmental challenges. Such shifts place increased pressure on already depleted natural resources due to the resource-intensive production and transportation requirements of these products.


Author(s):  
Tosin Kolajo Gbadegesin

Food security is of great importance in the politics of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) because of its implication on environment and people. The changing climate is adding to world resource problems such as food security, water scarcity, pollution, soil degradation, etc. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use demand by agriculture has continued to influence what people quantity and quality of available food. This review used resources from all relevant literatures to examine impact of changing climate on sustainable food consumption by identifying effect of changing climate on nutrition, food production, and food consumption, and provides recommendations on sustainable food consumption measures. The review is of the opinion that food consumption patterns are changing in the face of population growth, economic development, and environmental challenges. Such shifts place increased pressure on already depleted natural resources due to the resource-intensive production and transportation requirements of these products.


Author(s):  
Dami MOON ◽  
Eri Amasawa ◽  
Masahiko Hirao

This study aimed to define the use of products and services of PSS associated with laundry businesses such as coin-operated self-service laundromats (CL) and laundry services (LS) in order to get a better understanding of the environmental implications of PSS in laundry habits in Bangkok, Thailand. The motivation to use product-service systems (PSS) could vary according to the specific consumer needs often defined by cultures, and therefore the environmental impacts from the PSS use would result differently from country to country. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with Bangkok residents to determine the laundry habits related to the use of PSS. As a result, the use of private washing machines (PW) was found to be in the main option and CL and LS were used as an additional option in the laundry habits. Regarding the environmental potential, the respondent who uses CL and LS frequently tended to do laundry less often than those who only use PW. Meanwhile, CL and LS users adopted the use of tumble dryer more often, and the need to use was high compared to others who do not use PSS. The need to improve the quality of laundry is expected to increase with the improvement of quality of living in Bangkok in the near future. However, at the same time, these observations imply that change of consumer behaviors related to the use of PSS can affect energy consumption and environmental burdens. To further clarify sustainable consumption and production systems, a quantitative analysis of the environmental impact of the laundry habits remains as a future task.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 838
Author(s):  
Inéz Labucay

Only one third of studies on the Industry 4.0–sustainability link have been conducted in manufacturing, despite its centrality to “ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns” (UN Sustainable Development Goal nr. 12). The European Ecodesign Directive singled out machine tools as key to the sustainability transition, not least due to their high energy usage and their increasingly becoming enmeshed in cyber-physical production systems. This paper aims to find out whether the digital transformation underway in machine tools is sustainable as well as to identify its central technological pathways. Externalities in machine tools are tracked over three decades (1990–2018) by means of a multi-method setting: (1) mapping the Technological Innovation System (TIS) of machine tools; (2) co-occurrence analysis of transnational patent families, in order to reduce geographical and market distortions (Questel’s FAMPAT); and (3) analysis of the incidence of digital and sustainable technologies in machine tools patent applications (WIPO PATENTSCOPE). A smart sustainability transition is currently not hampered by a lack of smart technologies but rather by the sluggish introduction of sustainable machine tools. Cyber-physical and robot machine tools have been found to be central pathways to a smart sustainability transition. Implications for harnessing externalities reach beyond the machine tools industry.


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