FEVE & the EAA strongly questioned the use of the LCA methodology in research sponsored by PETRA. Both said the method employed for the PET body research is not designed to produce a carbon footprint comparison between packaging materials. The cradle-to-grave study, conducted by Franklin Associates for PETRA, compared total energy, solid waste & greenhouse gas emissions per/100,000-oz soft drinks packaged in 20-oz PET bottles, 8-oz glass bottles, or 12-oz aluminium cans. Results claimed PET bottles outperform aluminium can & glass bottles in terms of environmental footprint by using less energy, & creating significantly fewer greenhouse gases. FEVE's director challenged the validity of using the LCA method: "Comparative studies are dependent upon such a huge number of assumptions, that it is difficult to compare like with like & come to fair conclusions, to say the least."
