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

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/woven-shirt-carbon-footprint-per-piece

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](https://senseible.earth/calculators/product-carbon-footprint)
- [T-shirt footprint cradle to gate](https://senseible.earth/answers/t-shirt-carbon-footprint-cradle-to-gate)
- [Cotton vs polyester fabric footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/cotton-vs-polyester-fabric-carbon-footprint)
- [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.