# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a pair of jeans?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/denim-jeans-carbon-footprint-per-pair

Multiply the denim fabric per pair, including cutting waste, by your mill's per-metre or per-kg factor. Add trims, sewing electricity, washing and finishing fuel and chemicals, and packing. Divide by pairs passed. Fabric is usually most of the total, then washing.

## Fabric

- Count fabric issued per pair from your marker plan, including the cutting waste.
- Ask the denim mill for a figure per metre or per kg; cotton growing, spinning, dyeing and weaving are all in it.
- Stretch denim includes elastane, which is higher per kg than cotton.

## Make and wash

- Sewing and pressing electricity.
- Washing: boiler steam for hot washes, enzymes, stones, bleach and dryers. Laser and ozone finishing cut water and chemicals.
- Rivets, buttons, zips, labels and the poly bag.

## Per pair

Divide by pairs that pass inspection. Give heavy and light washes separate figures if your wash recipes differ.

## Worked example: jeans unit per pair (one month)

- Electricity: 60,000 kWh x 0.710 = 42,600 kg CO2
- Wash boiler PNG: 15,000 SCM x 2.05 = 30,750 kg CO2
- Pairs passed: 100,000
- Plant total: 73,350 / 100,000 = 0.734 kg CO2 per pair
- Add denim fabric, trims 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](https://senseible.earth/calculators/product-carbon-footprint)
- [Denim washing emissions per garment](https://senseible.earth/answers/denim-washing-emissions-per-garment)
- [Textile industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/textile)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Product Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/standards), [ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products (iso.org)](https://www.iso.org), [IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults)](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html), [CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-database/?lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-10-20.