# Where do staff uniforms, safety shoes and PPE go in our carbon footprint?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/staff-uniforms-and-ppe-scope-3

They are purchased goods, so they belong in Scope 3 Category 1. Use quantities and materials from the invoice where you have them, such as pieces of cotton or polyester uniform and pairs of safety shoes, and a spend-based estimate for the rest. They are usually a small line.

## What to include

- Uniforms, aprons and coats: count pieces and fabric type.
- Safety shoes, helmets, gloves, goggles and ear protection.
- Disposable PPE such as masks and nitrile gloves, which can add up in pharma and food plants.
- Laundry of uniforms by an outside service is a purchased service, also Category 1.

## How to estimate

- Activity-based: pieces x a per-piece factor for the material, where a supplier or database gives one.
- Spend-based: invoice value excluding GST x a factor for the product group, stating the factor's source and price year.
- Disposal of used PPE is Category 5, waste.

## Is it worth the effort

For most manufacturers uniforms and PPE are a small share of Scope 3. Estimate once by spend; if it is under a few percent of your Scope 3, keep the spend method and say so.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads purchase and service invoices; it uses quantities where the invoice shows them and otherwise gives a spend-based estimate, labelled as spend-based with wider uncertainty.

- [Mapping expense ledgers to Scope 3](https://senseible.earth/answers/map-expense-ledgers-to-scope-3-categories)
- [Spend-based Scope 3: GST, inflation, currency](https://senseible.earth/answers/spend-based-scope-3-gst-inflation-currency)
- [T-shirt footprint cradle to gate](https://senseible.earth/answers/t-shirt-carbon-footprint-cradle-to-gate)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, Category 1 purchased goods and services](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard)

Last reviewed 2026-10-20.