Eco-efficiency can be defined as an aspect of sustainability relating the environmental performance of a product system to its value, within Life Cycle Thinking perspective, as proposed by ISO 14045:2012. This international standard deals with the quantitative management tool called eco-efficiency assessment, in which environmental impacts under the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective (as prescribed by other International Standards ISO 14040, ISO 14044), and the value of the product system are both assessed. In this sense, value can be understood as the worth or desirability ascribed to a product system and may encompass different aspects including, among others, the functionality of the product system. However, the vast majority of publications found in the literature describe the relation observed between environmental aspects and economic ones. With the perspective of encouraging a broader framework in ecoefficiency assessment, this article aims at proposing to research and development areas the combined use of technical and environmental information derived from the early stages of development of new products and/or processes. In this paper, the relevance of evaluating the combination of technical properties and environmental aspects related to the development of distinct formulations of a Poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-Starch-Cotton composite with high natural cotton fiber content, under the ecoefficiency perspective is emphasized. Those composites in which natural cotton fibers were used as fillers exhibited a reduced environmental impact in comparison to exclusively PLA or PLA/Thermoplastic Starch (TPS) based thermoplastics. Moreover, higher contents of natural cotton fibers led to a better overall performance, under the point of view of eco-efficiency. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
