Carbon footprint of a t-shirt: material, process and transport
A t-shirt footprint is split between the fibre, wet processes such as dyeing, making-up, packaging and transport to the customer. Which block weighs most changes with the fabric and the destination, so an average figure rarely describes your garment: calculate it by style, colour and destination instead.
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A t-shirt looks like a simple product, but behind it is a long chain: fibre, spinning, weaving, dyeing, cutting, sewing, packaging and transport. Each stage adds emissions, and they do not all weigh the same.
- FibreCrop or polymer, spinning and weaving.
- Dyeing and finishingWet processes using energy and hot water.
- Making-upCutting, sewing and labels.
- PackagingBag, box and fillers.
- TransportThe route to the customer.
What goes into a t-shirt footprint?
- The fibre: producing cotton, polyester or another fibre, spinning and weaving it.
- Dyeing and finishing: wet processes that use energy and hot water.
- Making-up and packaging: cutting, sewing, labels and the bag or box.
- Transport: the route changes from one destination to another, even for the same garment.
The usual boundary is cradle to gate, as explained in the glossary under cradle to gate.
Why is a sector average not enough?
Because two t-shirts of the same style can differ in dyeing, fabric supplier or shipping route. A certificate by style, colour or destination avoids giving an average that describes none of them. It is the logic of the per-shipment certificate.
What data do you need to calculate it?
- The garment or fabric data sheet.
- Fibre composition and weight.
- The processes and where each stage takes place.
- Packaging and transport inputs.
If you work with a fabric supplier, their primary data improves the result. All of this and more, on the textiles page.
How is the result used?
To answer a brand or retailer reporting its Scope 3, for a tender, or to keep each style’s data in order ahead of the product regulation under development. In the next article we compare cotton and polyester.
By style, colour and destination: what changes?
One garment can have several footprints. The colour changes the dyeing process; the fabric supplier, the energy and the origin of the fibre; the destination, the transport route. That is why a single value per model is usually an average that describes no unit actually sold. A certificate by style, colour or destination lets you answer each customer with the figure that applies to them.
What mistakes come up in textiles?
- Using the finished garment weight for everything. The fabric entering the plant weighs more than what leaves it: cutting waste exists.
- Forgetting packaging. Bags, boxes and labels count.
- Mixing boundaries. Comparing a cradle-to-gate figure with one that includes use and end of life leads to wrong conclusions.
- Giving the same figure to every colour. Dyeing is one of the most obvious differences between styles.
Checklist to calculate your first t-shirt
- Data sheet for the garment or fabric.
- Fibre composition and weight per unit.
- Fabric supplier and location of each stage.
- Dyeing and finishing processes.
- Packaging and transport route to the customer.
What can you do this week?
The most useful thing is not to try to calculate the whole catalogue. Pick the three styles you sell most or that your customers ask for most and run a first exercise with them: gather the data sheet, composition, weight and processes, and note which data is missing. That list of gaps is valuable in itself: it tells you which supplier has to give you information and which conservative assumptions will remain in the first calculation.
Then decide how you will give the figure: by style, by colour or by destination. The sooner you decide, the less you will have to redo when a customer asks for more detail. And think about who in your company will be the point of contact on this, because fabric, dyeing and logistics data usually sit in different departments.
How does Xain do it?
Xain calculates from the technical documentation you already have, without asking your suppliers to fill anything in. The calculation is structured as a process tree and, if something is unclear, applies the most conservative factor; your fabric supplier’s primary data, when you have it, replaces the generic data. The certificate can be issued by style, SKU, colour, destination or shipment. In textiles, Xain and Nextil share NextXain. If you are interested, write to us.
Frequently asked questions
What companies usually ask before getting started.
Which block weighs most in a t-shirt?
It depends on the fabric and the destination. The fibre and the wet processes usually concentrate a good part, but the shipping route can change the result for the same garment.
Is a sector average figure enough?
It is fine for orientation, not for informing a customer. A style with a different dye or a different fabric supplier has a different footprint.
What documentation is needed?
The garment or fabric data sheet, fibre composition, weight, processes and where each stage takes place, and the transport inputs.
