Carbon Footprint

PUMA
Climate neutral capsule collection

Zurich, 9 February 2018

South Pole
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd. · Technoparkstrasse 1 · 8005 Zurich · Switzerland
+41 43 501 35 50 · info@southpole.com · southpole.com
Details
Prepared for:
Stefan Seidel, Head of Corporate Sustainability
PUMA SE
Puma Way 1 · 91074 Herzogenaurach · Germany
+49 151 1474 3876 · stefan.seidel@puma.com · www.puma.com

Prepared by:
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd. (South Pole)
Technoparkstrasse 1 · 8005 Zurich · Switzerland
southpole.com

Project Manager:
Sanna Setterwall, Consultant
+46 70 86 50 692 · s.setterwall@southpole.com

Contact person:
Melanie Wilneder, Senior Key Account Manager
m.wilneder@southpole.com

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Table of contents
Executive summary 4

1 Introduction 5
1.1 Goal and scope 5
1.1.1 Functional unit 5
1.1.2 System boundary 5
1.1.3 Impact categories and methodology 6
1.1.4 Data requirements, assumptions and limitations 6

2 Results 7
2.1 Life cycle inventory analysis 7
2.2 Life cycle GHG accounting results 9

3 Accounting principles 12

4 Global warming potentials 12

5 References 13

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List of tables
Table 1: Data inventory ....................................................................................................................... 7
Table 2: GHG emissions for 1 kg clothing material per unit process and input ..................................... 9
Table 3: Applied global warming potentials ....................................................................................... 12

List of figures
Figure 1: GHG emissions by unit process for 1 kg clothing material..................................................... 4
Figure 2: GHG emissions by source for 1 kg clothing material ............................................................. 4
Figure 3: System boundaries .............................................................................................................. 5
Figure 4: Carbon footprint of 1 kg clothing material............................................................................ 11

Acronyms and abbreviations

CH4 Methane
CO2 Carbon dioxide
CO2e Carbon dioxide equivalent
GHG Greenhouse gases
HFCs Hydrofluorocarbons
ISO International Standards Organisation
Kg Kilogram
kWh Kilowatt hour
N2O Nitrous oxide
t tonne
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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Executive summary
The direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases were calculated from a life cycle perspective for
1 kg of clothing material intended for use in PUMA’s new sustainable capsule collection. The analysis
included the life cycle of the product from raw material production to distribution to the retailer.

9 Total value:
7.82
8 Transport
0.80
7
0.59 Garment
6 production
Dyeing and
2.48
kg CO2e

5 finishing
4 Fabric knitting
0.24
3 Yarn spinning
2.14
2
Organic cotton
1 production
1.57
0

Figure 1: GHG emissions by unit process for 1 kg clothing material

10%
0%
1% 20% Cotton
Dyestuff
Waste
3%
20% 1% Electricity
Heating
Fuels
Refrigerants
Transport
45%

Figure 2: GHG emissions by source for 1 kg clothing material

In total, an average organic cotton PUMA T-shirt of the sustainable capsule will generate 2.24 kg CO2e
and an average hoddie will generage 3.91 kg CO2e from cotton farming until reaching the retailer.

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1 Introduction
PUMA is one of the world’s leading sports brands, and ready to launch their first climate neutral capsule
collection in partnership with an online retailer in 2018. Made up of a few pieces which can easily be
combined and interchanged, a capsule collection is meant to be a sports lifestyle collection targeting
conscious consumers. PUMA asked South Pole to perform a complete carbon footprint that can be
shared publicly on the microsite for the capsule. In a second stage, the quantified emissions will be
offset to sell the capsule collection as “climate neutral”.

1.1 Goal and scope

The goal of this study is to account for the complete carbon footprint of the clothing materials that are to
be used in PUMA’s new sustainable capsule collection. The figure presented in this report will be used
to calculate each clothing item’s footprint based on weight. The calculations have been performed in a
transparent way according to international standards (ISO 14040 and the GHG protocol) and the
methods, assumptions and results are presented in this report.

1.1.1 Functional unit

The functional unit was set to 1 kg of finished garment at point of retail. That way the carbon footprint
can easily be calculated for each clothing item in the collection based on weight.

1.1.2 System boundary

The system boundary covers the life cycle from cradle to gate at the retailer, since this is the part of the
life cycle that is under PUMA’s operational control. This includes the production of organic cotton and
other raw materials, the production of packaging materials, the process emissions from yarn and fabric
production including cotton spinning, knitting, dyeing and finishing, the transport between all stages, the
production of clothes at the garment production stage, and the distribution to the retailer, see figure 1.
Both direct and indirect GHG emissions are covered in the calculations.

Figure 3: System boundaries

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1.1.3 Impact categories and methodology

The impact category chosen for this assessment is climate change, expressed in kg of carbon dioxide
equivalents, since the objective is to calculate a carbon footprint. The assessment is performed
according to the Greenhous Gas (GHG) Protocol: A Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting
Standard, and the ISO 14040 Life Cycle Assessment Standard. The GHG Protocol standard is
developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD) and is one of the most used international standards to understand, quantify and
address greenhouse gas emissions.

1.1.4 Data requirements, assumptions and limitations

PUMA and their suppliers have provided South Pole with primary data for the production processes and
in-between transports. Generic data on the emissions from the production of organic cotton was used
when calculating the raw material inputs. For the chemicals added in the dyeing and finishing processes,
it is assumed that all chemicals have the same emission factor as the reactive dye. This is a conservative
assumption since most of the added chemicals and salts that are not textile dye most likely have a lower
emission factor.

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2 Results
2.1 Life cycle inventory analysis
The data was collected directly from PUMA and PUMA’s suppliers. It is composed of primary data from
the production and estimates of transport distances between the sites. The inventory is presented in
Table 1 following the reference flow of the functional unit.
For the confection, two different plants are used. The inputs from these plants have been allocated
according to the percentage of the total collection that is produced at each of them.

Table 1: Data inventory

Inventory: 1 kg clothing material Amount Unit

Organic cotton production

Cotton fibre 1.6 kg

Transport

Truck 0.8 Tonne-km

Yarn spinning

Electricity 3.39 kWh

Petrol 0.0005 Litres

Output: Yarn 1.12 kg

Transport

Truck 0.13 Tonne-km

Fabric knitting

Electricity 0.32 kWh

Heating oil 0.0075 Litres

Diesel 0.0045 Litres

Output: Fabric 1.07 kg

Transport

Truck 0.13 Tonne-km

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Inventory: 1 kg clothing material Amount Unit

Dyeing and finishing

Dyestuff and finishing materials 0.04 kg

Electricity 1.19 kWh

Natural gas 3.74 kWh

District heating 4.35 kWh

Diesel 0.0029 Litres

Refrigerant R410 0.0012 g

Output: Dyed fabric 1.07 kg

Transport

Truck 1.08 Tonne-km

Garment production

Electricity 0.69 kWh

Natural gas 0.001 kWh

Fuel oil 0.05 g

Diesel 0.02 Litres

Petrol 0.002 Litres

Refrigerant R410 0.0086 g

Refrigerant R22 0.0108 g

Waste fabric 0.07 kg

Output: Garment material 1 kg

Transport

Truck 3.95 Tonne-km

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2.2 Life cycle GHG accounting results

According to PUMA’s suppliers, a t-shirt weights approximately 0.3 kg and a hoodie approximately 0.5
kg. The results of this study show that 1 kg of garment material has a carbon footprint of 7.82 kg CO2e
(see Table 2). Therefore, based on the weights provided, an average t-shirt from this collection has a
carbon footprint of 2.24 kg CO2e and a hoodie has a carbon footprint of 3.91 kg CO2e.
Over 80% of the footprint is associated to raw materials and processing, see Figure 2 on page four. The
category “transport” covers not only distribution to retailer, but all the transport including the transport of
raw materials and in between all the processing stages.

Table 2: GHG emissions for 1 kg clothing material per unit process and input

Unit process kg CO2e % of total Emission factor Reference

Organic cotton production 1.568 20.0%

Cotton fibre 1.568 20.0% 0.978 kg CO2e/kg Thylmann et al.

Transport 0.105
1.3%
Cotton fibre to yarn spinning

Truck 0.105 1.3% 0.131 kg CO2e/tkm DBEIS

Yarn spinning 2.140 27.4%

Electricity 2.138 27.3% 0.630 kg CO2e/kWh IEA, DBEIS

Petrol 0.002 >0.0% 3.220 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Transport
0.018
Yarn to fabric knitting 0.2%

Truck 0.018 0.2% 0.131 kg CO2e/tkm DBEIS

Fabric knitting 0.244 3.1%

Electricity 0.202 2.6% 0.630 kg CO2e/kWh IEA, DBEIS

Heating oil 0.028 0.4% 3.770 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Diesel 0.014 0.2% 3.220 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Transport 0.2%
0.017
Fabric to dyeing and finishing

Truck 0.017 0.2% 0.131 kg CO2e/tkm DBEIS

Dyeing and finishing 2.485 31.8%

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Unit process kg CO2e % of total Emission factor Reference

Dyestuff and finishing 2.6%

0.205 5.580 kg CO2e/kg Ecoinvent v3.3
materials

Electricity 0.749 9.6% 0.630 kg CO2e/kWh IEA, DBEIS

Natural gas 0.792 10.1% 0.212 kg CO2e/kWh DBEIS

District heating 0.727 9.3% 0.167 kg CO2e/kWh DBEIS

Diesel 0.009 0.1% 3.220 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Refrigerant R410 0.003 >0.0% 2088 kg CO2e/kg DBEIS

Transport 1.8%
0.142
Dyed fabric to garment prod.

Truck 0.142 1.8% 0.131 kg CO2e/tkm DBEIS

Garment production 0.589 7.5%

Electricity 0.436 5.6% 0.630 kg CO2e/kWh IEA, DBEIS

Natural gas >0.000 >0.0% 0.212 kg CO2e/kWh DBEIS

Heating oil >0.000 >0.0% 3.770 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Diesel 0.061 0.8% 3.220 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Petrol 0.006 0.1% 3.220 kg CO2e/l DBEIS

Refrigerant R410 0.018 0.2% 2088 kg CO2e/kg DBEIS

Refrigerant R22 0.020 0.2% 1810 kg CO2e/kg DBEIS

Waste fabric 0.048 0.6% 0.727 kg CO2e/kg Ecoinvent v3.3

Transport 6.6%
0.517
Garment to retailer

Truck 0.517 6.6% 0.131 kg CO2e/tkm DBEIS

Total transport 0.798 10.2%

Total 7.824 100%

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Carbon footprint of 1 kg clothing material

3.00

2.50
32%

2.00 27%
kg CO2e

1.50
20%

1.00

10%
0.50
8%

3%
0.00
Organic cotton Yarn spinning Fabric knitting Dyeing and Garment Transport
production finishing production

Figure 4: Carbon footprint of 1 kg clothing material

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3 Accounting principles
The GHG accounting was based on the GHG Protocol’s principles of:
• Relevance: An appropriate inventory boundary that reflects the GHG emissions of the
company and serves decision-making needs of users.
• Completeness: Accounting all emission sources within the chosen inventory boundary.
Any specific exclusion is disclosed and specified.
• Consistency: Meaningful comparison of information over time and transparently
documented changes to the data.
• Transparency: Data inventory sufficiency and clarity, where relevant issues are
addressed in a coherent manner.
• Accuracy: Minimised uncertainty and avoided systematic over or under quantification of
greenhouse gas emissions.

4 Global warming potentials

Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of the climate impact of a GHG compared to carbon
dioxide over a time horizon. GHGs have different GWP values depending on their efficiency to
absorb long wave radiation and the atmospheric lifetime of the gas.

Table 3: Applied global warming potentials

GHG GWP (100 years)

CO2 1

CH4 25

N2O 298
Source: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) (2007)

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5 References
DBEIS (2017) Government conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting. UK
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

Greenhouse Gas Protocol (2010). Product life cycle accounting and reporting standard. [online]
Available at: http://www.ghgprotocol.org/product-standard

IEA (2017) CO₂ emissions per kWh from electricity generation

ISO 14040:2006 Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework.

PUMA (http://puma.com)

SLN Tekstil (http://www.slnmoda.com)

SLN Boya (http://www.slnboya.com/default.asp)

Thylmann, D.; Deimling, Dr. S; D’Souza, F. (2014). The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of
Organic Cotton Fiber. PE INTERNATIONAL. Copyright: Textile Exchange

Wernet, G., Bauer, C., Steubing, B., Reinhard, J., Moreno-Ruiz, E., and Weidema, B., (2016).
The ecoinvent database version 3.3 [online] 21(9), Available at: https://ecoinvent.org

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