How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a woven shirt?

Multiply the fabric issued per shirt, including cutting waste, by your mill's per-metre factor. Add interlining, buttons, thread, labels, sewing and pressing electricity, washing if any, and the folding pack. Divide by shirts passed. Fabric is usually most of the total.

Fabric and trims

• Fabric per shirt from the marker, including waste.
• Ask the weaving or processing mill for a per-metre figure; dyeing and finishing energy is in it.
• Fusible interlining, buttons, thread, labels and collar stays.

Making

• Sewing machines, fusing presses and steam irons with their boiler.
• Garment washing or softening, where done.
• Poly bags, cartons and tissue.

Per piece

Report per shirt by style, since full and half sleeves differ in fabric. Give the fabric weight in GSM.

Worked example: shirt unit per piece (one month)

• Electricity: 40,000 kWh x 0.710 = 28,400 kg CO2
• Steam boiler PNG: 5,000 SCM x 2.05 = 10,250 kg CO2
• Shirts passed: 80,000
• Plant total: 38,650 / 80,000 = 0.483 kg CO2 per shirt
• Add fabric, interlining 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
• T-shirt footprint cradle to gate
• Cotton vs polyester fabric footprint
• 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.