Sustainability 2012, 4, 2673-2706; doi:10.3390/su4102673 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Article The Importance of Considering Product Loss Rates in Life Cycle Assessment: The Example of Closure Systems for Bottled Wine Anna Kounina 1,2,*, Elisa Tatti 1, Sebastien Humbert 1, Richard Pfister 3, Amanda Pike 4, Jean-François Ménard 5, Yves Loerincik 1 and Olivier Jolliet 1 1 Quantis, Parc Scientifique EPFL, Bâtiment D, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; E-Mails:
[email protected] (E.T.);
[email protected] (S.H.);
[email protected] (Y.L.);
[email protected] (O.J.) 2 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 3 Praxis Energia, rue Verte, 1261 Le Vaud, Switzerland; E-Mail:
[email protected] 4 Quantis, 283 Franklin St. Floor 2, Boston, MA 02110, USA; E-Mail:
[email protected] 5 Quantis, 395 rue Laurier Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H2V 2K3, Canada; E-Mail:
[email protected] * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +41-21-693-91-95; Fax: +41-21-693-91-96. Received: 23 July 2012; in revised form: 21 September 2012 / Accepted: 2 October 2012 / Published: 18 October 2012 Abstract: Purpose: The objective of this study is to discuss the implications of product loss rates in terms of the environmental performance of bottled wine. Wine loss refers to loss occurring when the consumer does not consume the wine contained in the bottle and disposes of it because of taste alteration, which is caused by inadequate product protection rendering the wine unpalatable to a knowledgeable consumer.