New Study Reveals Raw Materials Drive 90% of Apparel’s Environmental Impact

Glimpact has released a new study evaluating the full environmental impact of apparel, revealing that up to 90% of a product’s footprint occurs before it’s even assembled. The analysis, which applied the EU-adopted Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method across more than 100 items, found that carbon emissions account for just 23% of the average apparel item’s total impact.

Brands analyzed included Patagonia, Reformation, H&M, Ralph Lauren, and Alo Yoga. Among the key findings: Reformation’s Tessa Hoodie had the highest impact among tested women’s sweatshirts, surpassing Alo Yoga’s and Patagonia’s alternatives. Material choices proved critical, changing the source of cotton in the Reformation hoodie could reduce its impact by 40%, while altering dyeing processes could cut Patagonia’s hoodie footprint by more than 10%.

Full findings available at: https://www.glimpactnews.com/fashion-apparel-study