Carbon Footprint of Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton

Pre-consumer recycled cotton is a plant fiber made from textile manufacturing scraps and cutting waste that would otherwise be discarded, commonly used in apparel like t-shirts, denim, and casual wear. With a carbon footprint of approximately 21 kg CO₂e per kg, the carbon footprint of pre-consumer recycled cotton per kg is significantly lower than virgin cotton, making it an increasingly popular choice for brands seeking to reduce environmental impact while maintaining fabric quality.

What’s are the CO2e emissions of Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton

What’s are the CO2e emissions of Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton?

The carbon footprint of pre-consumer recycled cotton ranges from 20.3 kg CO2e per kg (median) to 21.0 kg CO2e per kg (average), with CO2 emissions driven primarily by collection, sorting, and reprocessing operations. Greenhouse gas emissions from pre-consumer recycled cotton remain significantly lower than virgin cotton due to avoided agricultural inputs.
  • Average footprint per kg: 21.0 kgCO2e
  • Median footprint per kg: 20.3 kgCO2e

Emissions by Process Step in Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton Production

The footprint of Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton includes emissions from multiple processing stages. The following process steps were identified as carbon hotspots for Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton production:
  • Textile Formation: 44.5%
  • Yarn Formation: 15.6%
  • Preparation: 15.6%
Emissions by Process Step in Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton Production

Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton Water Consumption

The water usage Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton significantly reduces environmental impact, with the water footprint Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton per kg demonstrating substantial savings compared to virgin cotton's 13.9 m3 per kg water consumption.
  • Average water use per kg: 13.9 m3
  • Median water use per kg: 13.6 m3

Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton deep dive

Read our extensive analysis on the environmental footprint of Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton

 Pre Consumer Recycled Cotton Deep Dive

Carbonfact for Suppliers

Free directory where 300+ brands discover innovative materials, and suppliers share LCA data confidentially.

Multi-Component Support

CHOSEN by 300+ BRANDS AND SUPPLIERS

"Shoes can consist of up to 1500 components. Before Carbonfact, we asked our developers to weigh every single piece but such a manual approach is not scalable. Carbonfact helped us  in deriving rules to overcome data gaps by creating accurate assumptions."

Philipp Engels
Product Sustainability Lead at On
Philipp Engels

"With Carbonfact we can do full product LCAs on all of our products. Thanks to measuring things early on, we can simulate how a new product is going to have a different impact compared to the current version. For example, one of our new products is expected to decrease its footprint by a fourth just by designing it differently."

Jessica Genta
Strategy & Sustainability at La Sportiva
Jessica Genta-1

"We needed a solution that could handle the complexities of the apparel supply chain, provide year-to-date insights, and support with detailed scenario analyses for our supply chain. For us Carbonfact is not just a Carbon Management Software, but an extension of our sustainability team."

Florence Degoy Vacher
Secrétaire Générale at A.P.C.
FlorenceDegoyVacher

"What's really special about Carbonfact is the way that it can work alongside the VF brands to help identify where there are gaps in our product impact data. But also helping us bridge towards improving that data. So it's much more of a partner to solve the challenges we have."

Julian Lings
Senior Sustainability Manager, The Northface
Julian Lings

"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
Emily Foster

"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."

Aileen Lerch
Sustainability at Allbirds
Aileen Lerch-1

"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."

Malin Bosaeus
Global Sustainability Manager at Happy Socks
Malin Bosaeus

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.

Group 41859

If you click on “Accept all” you agree to the use of these cookies. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Or, you can continue without agreeing .