Orginal Post on EcoTextile News click here
MATLOCK – [08.07.08] A new on-line
calculator which allows consumers to calculate the environmental impact of
their clothing has been launched by Colour Connections Ltd – the same company
which developed the ground-breaking textile eco-metrics
(click here or see this blogs 7.18.08 post) for manufacturers and clothing brands.
The new ‘Household Textile
Environmental Impact Calculator’ differs from textile eco-metrics in that it's
aimed specifically at shoppers instead of the textile industry. Using a series
of drop-down menus and a set of complex mathematics hidden behind its user
friendly interface allows consumers to assess the environmental impact of the
choices they make when they buy, care and dispose of household textiles and
clothing.
All users have to do is choose from
a list of common clothing items in terms of how many items they buy and how
they are disposed in a twelve month period. Then users are asked how these
items are washed, dried and ironed in a typical week. After pressing the
'calculate' button, users score a rating in terms of 'Environmental Damage
Units' or EDU’s. The EDU value is an environmental measure which is
scientifically arrived at based on water and energy use, the use of
non-renewable resources and pollution.
The overall EDU score for each item
of clothing depends on each individual consumer’s buying preferences, how they
care for their garments and ultimately how they dispose of them.
“You may be surprised at how much
impact your personal or family clothing preferences have on the environment,”
said Phil Patterson, managing director of Colour Connections. “Doing one fewer
tumble drying cycle per week saves 170 EDU’s, which is enough to make the
fabric for 50 pairs of underpants.”
CLICK HERE to see how
your wardrobe stacks up.
Copyright © 2008 Mowbray Communications
Ltd
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