What Tracker measures
Tracker records quantities of recovered items and converts them to estimated textile weight. It does not measure physical water use, emissions at a facility, fibre composition, reuse quality, or a garment’s complete life-cycle impact.
User data and aggregation
A contribution records an item quantity and an average item weight. Profile and group totals add the recorded quantities and textile kilograms. Impact values are calculated from the resulting textile kilograms.
Formulas
Textile recovered: textile kg = quantity × average weight (kg/item)
Estimated avoided CO₂: textile kg × 25 kg CO₂/kg textile
Estimated avoided water footprint: textile kg × 10,000 L/kg × 0.28 = textile kg × 2,800 L/kg
Assumptions and limits
- The 10,000 L/kg value is a global cotton water-footprint proxy used as a reference for recovered textiles assumed to be cotton-dominated.
- The 0.28 replacement rate comes from UK reuse evidence and is not universal for every geography or reuse pathway.
- Water is reported as an estimated avoided water footprint, not water physically saved. The model does not separate green, blue, and grey water.
- The model uses avoided-impact logic. It is not a complete life-cycle assessment and results depend on composition, substitution, usability, and actual behaviour.
- Carbon is labelled estimated avoided CO₂. It is not labelled CO₂e because the cited factor does not expressly establish a CO₂-equivalent scope.
Sources
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya / INTEXTER (2022), textile reuse and 25 kg CO₂/kg estimate.
- Water Footprint Network, Product Gallery: cotton fabric, global average water footprint.
- WRAP (2012), Valuing Our Clothes: UK clothing displacement rate.
Methodology version 2026.1 · reviewed August 2026.