How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a kurta?

Take the fabric issued per kurta, including cutting waste, and multiply by the mill's per-metre figure. Add embroidery or printing, trims, stitching and pressing electricity and packing, then divide the unit's energy by kurtas passed.

Fabric and embellishment

• Fabric per kurta from the marker, including waste and shrinkage allowance.
• Hand block, screen or digital printing: dye, steam and dryer energy per metre.
• Chikankari or machine embroidery: thread and machine hours.

Making and packing

• Sewing machines, overlock machines and steam irons with their boiler.
• Buttons, piping, lining and labels.
• Poly bags, hangers and cartons.

Per piece

Report per style and size band, since a long A-line kurta uses noticeably more fabric than a short straight one. Give the fabric and its weight in GSM.

Worked example: kurta unit per piece (one month)

• Electricity: 30,000 kWh x 0.710 = 21,300 kg CO2
• PNG: 3,000 SCM x 2.05 = 6,150 kg CO2
• Kurtas passed: 40,000
• Plant total: 27,450 / 40,000 = 0.686 kg CO2 per kurta
• Add fabric, printing and trims for the full figure

Inputs are illustrative; use your own bills and production records.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads the plant's electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and fuel invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record, the plant-level input to a per-unit figure. Bought-in materials go to the supplier evidence trail; product reports are self-declared drafts.

• Product carbon footprint calculator
• Woven shirt footprint per piece
• Handloom fabric footprint per metre
• Textile industry

Sources: GHG Protocol Product Standard, ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products (iso.org), IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults), CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0

Last reviewed 2026-10-20.