Kleiderly’s impact reduction potential.
Many companies are claiming to be climate neutral or even climate positive. But what does that actually mean and how can you tell if a company is actually climate neutral?
In 2016, Impact Forecast recognised that there is a gap between people with potential positive impactful ideas and people who are able to assess the impact of these ideas. Therefore, they have developed a tool to calculate the environmental impact of a company.
Since our mission is to reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, we wanted to know how much carbon we actually save with our material, and the results are here!
Impact Forecast, an external third-party consultancy, commissioned by EU’s Climate-KIC, verified that we have a climate impact reduction potential of 7565 metric tonnes of carbon equivalent per year. But what does that actually mean?
This is equivalent to:
Driving a car 936 times around the world.
7,634 passengers flying from London to New York.
14,694 barrels of oil burnt.
3,180 EU households electricity.
1,513 elephants mass (5t) of CO₂.
1,365 hot air balloons (2800 m²) of CO₂.
What does carbon equivalent mean?
Carbon dioxide equivalent or CO₂e is a term used for describing different greenhouse gases in a common unit. CO₂e states the amount which would have been the equivalent of the global warming impact.
A number of greenhouse gasses can be expressed as CO₂e by multiplying the amount of the greenhouse gas by its Global Warming Potential (GWP). For example, if 1kg of methane is emitted, this can be expressed as 25kg of CO₂e, because methane has GWP of 25 times more than carbon dioxide.
Global Warming Potential
The Global Warming Potential shows the comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. It is basically a measure of how much energy the emission of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a period of time. This is then made relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂). The larger the Global Warming Potential, the more a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO₂ over that time period.
Greenhouse Gases
A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas that absorbs infrared radiation, traps heat in the atmosphere, and contributes to the greenhouse effect. It absorbs and re-emits heat. This keeps the earth's atmosphere warmer than it should be. The main Greenhouse Gases are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and water vapour.
Carbon Dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas which is emitted by human activities. The Global Warming Potential of Carbon Dioxide is normalised as 1.
Methane is a gas found in small quantities in Earth's atmosphere. It is a very powerful greenhouse gas hence it has a Global Warming Potential of 25.
This means that 1kg of methane causes 25 times more warming over a 100 year period when compared to 1kg of carbon dioxide.
Why should you care about Global Warming?
Our climate is changing much faster than previously predicted. From more extreme storms to extraordinary heatwaves, we’re feeling the impacts of human-caused global warming.
The world is already 1° C hotter than it was between 1850 and 1900. Climate change is not a problem that governments can solve alone. The collaboration across regional governments, businesses, and communities are all needed.
If we don't make a change soon, the sea level will rise, coral reefs are at risk of severe degradation, heat waves will become more frequent, and we are at risk of experiencing more floods.
Unfortunately, the Arctic ocean is warming faster than anywhere else on earth and ice-free summers could become a reality in the future.
The importance of reducing CO₂ emissions
There are many reasons why it is important to reduce CO₂ emissions. A 2017 study found that in 2010, air pollution caused over 23 000 deaths in the UK. Another report predicts that annual premature deaths due to air pollution will increase to up to 9 million people in 2060.
Reducing CO₂ emissions is not only important for humans, but also for the climate change effects that we are currently experiencing. Climate change is the main cause of increased droughts, sea-level rise, drastic weather events, etc.
Unfortunately, plastics, which are a big part of our modern lives, also play a major role in the increase of CO₂ emissions, because they are made from crude oil, which is a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases. This starts at the production phase.
Studies have shown that the greenhouse gas emissions from plastics will reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030 and 2.8 gigatons per year by 2050.
How does Kleiderly contribute?
At Kleiderly, we found a solution for two environmental problems at once: the plastic problem and the textile waste problem. We strive for a circular economy. We use old, unwanted clothing, and convert them into a plastic alternative. Therefore, reducing clothing waste and reducing the use of oil-based plastic. We then convert them into your first pair of circular eyewear, and this is only the beginning.
Sources:
https://impact-forecast.com/our-story
https://earth.org/carbon-emissions-economy/
https://ecometrica.com/assets/GHGs-CO2-CO2e-and-Carbon-What-Do-These-Mean-v2.1.pdf
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials
https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/methane