Study claims African cotton has 60% lower carbon footprint
13/05/2013
Taking part in an online discussion on sustainable fashion organised by The Guardian newspaper on May 10, Abi Rushton, an associate director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, which manages the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) sustainable cotton initiative, made the comment while saying that consumers need not feel bad about continuing to buy new clothes, provided they choose carefully.
Ms Rushton also said choosing clothing made from cotton sourced in Africa also helps improve incomes for small-scale farmers in developing countries. “We shouldn’t feel bad about buying new clothing; just be selective about what you’re buying,” she said.
Asked by sportstextiles.com about the carbon footprint and water footprint claims, Ms Rushton pointed us towards a study on the subject published on the CmiA website. The Hamburg-based organisation published its Carbon and Water Footprint of Cotton made in Africa report in January 2013.
Analysis was conducted fol- lowing the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) concept as defined in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. Impacts were calculated for a functional unit of one kilo of lint cotton for the processes of cotton cultivation and cotton ginning, as well as all upstream processes.
In brief, the lower carbon footprint is the result of the absence of mechanisation in cotton production in Africa, delivering an average of 1.92 kilos of CO2 equivalent in emissions for one kilo of African cotton compared to 4.64 kilos for conventional cotton.
The total water footprint of CmiA cotton is slightly higher (14.2 cubic-metres per kilo of cotton compared to 13.1 cubic-metres for conventional cotton. However, CmiA growers use 99% “green” water, the study said, whereas conventional producers, typically are able to use only 40% green water. Owing to the absence of irrigation systems on the land farmed by small-scale cotton producers in Africa, CmiA cotton is not responsible for using up surface or ground water (blue water) and has no environmental impact on blue water resources. In comparison, each kilo of conventionally produced cotton uses 5 cubic-metres of this water, the study said.
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