Which has a lower carbon footprint, a clay idol or a plaster of Paris idol?
An unfired clay idol usually has the lower footprint: the clay needs little processing. Plaster of Paris is made by heating gypsum, which burns fuel. Paints, transport and the frame add to both. For a fair figure, weigh the materials and include the fuel behind the plaster.
Where emissions come from
- Plaster of Paris: fuel to calcine gypsum.
- Clay idols: digging, transport and drying, usually small.
- Both: paints, decorations, scaffolding and transport.
Beyond carbon
Water pollution from immersion is a separate issue from greenhouse gases; this page covers carbon only.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads bills, fuel invoices and production records into dated, fingerprinted records, so the figure you send a buyer can be traced to its documents.
Sources: 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, GHG Protocol standards, including the Product Standard
Last reviewed 2026-10-22.