Every product tells a story: Why Life Cycle thinking could shape a greener Sri Lanka

EVER wondered how much water it takes to produce a cotton shirt? Or what happens to your mobile phone after you throw it away? As conversations around climate change and sustainability intensify, more people from exporters to everyday consumers are beginning to look at the bigger picture. And in that picture, a tool called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is taking centre stage.

- BY SAMANTHA KUMARASENA AND SANDUNI THUDUGALA

LCA is not new. Globally, it’s been used for decades to understand the environmental cost of products and services, not just during use, but throughout their entire journey: from raw material extraction to manufacturing, transportation, consumption, and final disposal. In other words, from cradle to grave.

Now, Sri Lanka is starting to explore how this concept, once confined to technical reports and research labs, can be applied in industries, classrooms, boardrooms, and even public conversations.

What is Life Cycle Assessment?

Life Cycle Assessment is a scientific method used to evaluate the full environmental footprint of a product or process. Unlike traditional environmental checks that focus on just one stage such as energy use during manufacturing, LCA considers everything: from raw material extraction to processing, distribution, use, and final disposal.

Take, for example, a cotton T-shirt. From the water used to grow the cotton, to the dyes used in processing, to global shipping and eventual disposal, every step in the supply chain has an environmental impact. LCA helps measure these impacts, identify “hotspots,” and guide decisions toward more sustainable alternatives.

It’s a method that brings science into sustainability and moves discussions from assumptions to evidence.

Why it matters now

With Sri Lankan exporters facing rising expectations from global buyers, especially in Europe, LCA is becoming more than a scientific tool. It’s fast becoming a passport to market access.

Across Europe and other regions, buyers are demanding transparency. They want to know how products are made, how much water and energy are used, what kind of packaging is involved, and what happens to waste. Crucially, they expect verified data, not just promises.