Carbon Footprint of Workwear

This page provides an overview of the carbon footprint of workwear products based on a life cycle assessment. Professionals can use these insights to benchmark emissions, identify hotspots, and uncover opportunities to reduce environmental impact.

30.06 kg CO2e The Carbon Footprint of Workwear Workwear Carbon Footprint
What's the Carbon Footprint of Workwear?

What's the Carbon Footprint of Workwear?

On average, a workwear item has a carbon footprint of 33.86 kg CO₂e and weighs 676.67 g. The emissions range from 9.61 kg CO₂e to 70.67 kg CO₂e across the product line. Each workwear item consists of 2 components.
  • Minimum footprint: 9.61 kg CO2e
  • Median footprint: 30.06 kg CO2e
  • Maximum footprint: 70.67 kg CO2e

Carbon Emissions by Process Step in Workwear Production

Each workwear's footprint includes emissions from multiple manufacturing stages. The following process steps were identified as carbon hotspots for workwear:
  • Finishing 2.47 kg CO₂e
  • Coloration 2.06 kg CO₂e
  • Yarn Formation 1.41 kg CO₂e
Carbon Emissions by Process Step in Workwear Production

Key Insights from the Environmental Data on Workwear

Finishing and Coloration Emissions Hotspots

The finishing (2.47 kg CO₂e) and coloration (2.06 kg CO₂e) process steps have the highest emissions for workwear production. Focusing improvements on these areas could significantly reduce the overall footprint.

Yarn Formation Emissions Impact

Yarn formation is the third highest emission source at 1.41 kg CO₂e per workwear item. Optimizing this process step presents an opportunity for footprint reduction.

Wide Emissions Range Across Products

The range of 9.61 - 70.67 kg CO₂e indicates substantial variation in emissions across the workwear product line. Analyzing drivers of this range could identify improvement areas.

Relationship Between Mass and Emissions

With an average product mass of 676.67 g and emissions of 33.86 kg CO₂e, there may be a connection between the mass of a workwear item and its carbon footprint to explore.

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Secrétaire Générale at A.P.C.
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Senior Sustainability Manager, The Northface
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"The Explorer is, for sure, my favorite feature. I love the ability to look at the breakdown of the carbon footprint per product line, for processes or on a material basis. That's so dynamic that we're able to leverage it in different ways depending on the projects that we're working on or the teams that we're engaging with."

Emily Foster
Director of Planet & People Impact at Burton
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"Carbonfact's offerings, particularly its product-level focus for footwear and apparel, ensures we can both measure our carbon footprint and actively find ways to reduce it. Carbonfact has been instrumental in helping us model different scenarios and make informed decisions that align with our sustainability goals."

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Sustainability at Allbirds
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"We have moved from spend-based carbon accounting into Carbonfact to prioritize primary data and get more accurate calculations. The main reason for us to choose Carbonfact is that we now not only get our company's total carbon footprint but also break it down for each of our products."

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Global Sustainability Manager at Happy Socks
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References

Data sourced from Carbonfact’s proprietary database, powered by over 50 million LCAs run on textile, fashion, and footwear products. The methodology is aligned with the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and adapted for product category specificity.

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