How do I calculate the carbon footprint of yarn dyeing per kg?
Add the dyehouse's boiler fuel, thermic fluid heater fuel and electricity for a period, convert each with its factor and divide by kg of yarn dyed. Add dyes and chemicals per kg for the full figure. Steam is usually the largest share.
Energy
- Boiler fuel for package dyeing and hank dyeing steam.
- Hydro extractor, dryers and winding machines on electricity.
- Effluent treatment plant power, which belongs to the dyeing step.
Materials
- Dyes, salt, soda ash and auxiliaries by kg per kg of yarn.
- Dye cones, tubes and packing.
Per kg
Report per kg of yarn dyed by shade depth, since dark shades take longer cycles and more chemicals than pastels.
Worked example: yarn dyehouse per kg (one month)
- Electricity: 60,000 kWh x 0.710 = 42,600 kg CO2
- Coal: 90,000 kg x 2.42 = 217,800 kg CO2
- Kg of yarn dyed: 150,000
- Plant total: 260,400 / 150,000 = 1.736 kg CO2 per kg
- Add dyes and chemicals 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
- CO2 per tonne of steam
- Dye and pigment footprint per kg
- 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.