Textile Recycling Impact Calculator
Rate the environmental benefit of diverting clothing and fabric from landfill as a relative impact score, accounting for textile type, condition, processing route and an optional water credit for cotton. Ideal for comparing options at donation centers, brands and households; it is a score, not a dollar value.
Last updated: September 2026
Environmental Impact Score
295 points
Formula below · 2 sources (epa.gov, Wikipedia) · Updated Sep 2026
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About this calculator
Textile production is one of the most resource-intensive industries, consuming vast amounts of water, energy and chemicals. This calculator produces a relative environmental impact score — points, not dollars — for comparing ways of handling a batch of textiles: Score = weight × material factor × condition × processing multiplier + water credit. The material factors are the calculator's own weightings for the embedded impact per kg (wool 8.5, polyester 4.2, denim 3.1, cotton 2.8, mixed 3.2); they are not taken from a published life-cycle study, so use the score to compare options, not as an absolute measure. The condition grade (0.2–1.0) scales the score by garment quality, and the processing multiplier rewards resale (2.5, the garment replaces a new one) over downcycling (1.2) or fiber recovery (0.8). The optional water credit adds 1 point per kg of cotton or denim (and 0.5 per kg of mixed fabrics, assumed half cotton), standing for roughly 10,000 litres of water used to grow and process each kg of new cotton; polyester and wool get no water credit. Higher scores indicate a greater benefit from diverting the textile from landfill.
How to use
Recycling 5 kg of lightly used cotton T-shirts (condition 0.9) via resale, with the water credit. Step 1 — Select 'cotton'; factor = 2.8. Step 2 — Enter weight = 5 kg. Step 3 — Choose condition 0.9. Step 4 — Select 'resale'; multiplier = 2.5. Step 5 — Include water savings: 5 kg × 1 point = 5 points. Calculation: Score = 5 × 2.8 × 0.9 × 2.5 + 5 = 31.5 + 5 = 36.5 points. Compared with worn (grade 0.4) polyester sent to fiber recovery without the water credit (5 × 4.2 × 0.4 × 0.8 = 6.72 points), resale of good-quality cotton scores more than five times higher.
Frequently asked questions
Why does wool have a higher environmental impact factor than cotton or polyester in textile recycling?
Wool carries the highest material factor (8.5) because its production involves extensive land use for grazing, significant methane emissions from sheep, high water consumption, and energy-intensive scouring and processing. Life-cycle assessments consistently show wool's carbon and water footprints per kilogram are among the highest of common textiles. Recycling or reselling wool garments therefore avoids a disproportionately large environmental burden compared to other materials. This makes donating a quality woolen sweater one of the most impactful single-item textile recycling actions a consumer can take.
What is the difference between resale, downcycling, and shredding for textile recycling?
Resale (e.g., thrift stores, second-hand platforms) preserves the garment's full value and avoids all new production, earning the highest multiplier (2.5). Downcycling converts fabrics into lower-grade products like insulation, industrial rags, or stuffing, recovering partial value (multiplier 1.2) but losing the garment's original utility. Shredding or composting (multiplier 0.8) breaks textiles down entirely, recovering minimal value but still diverting material from landfill. The processing method you choose dramatically affects both the economic return and the environmental benefit score, which is why the calculator separates them as distinct inputs.
How much water is saved by recycling cotton clothing instead of buying new?
Cotton is exceptionally water-intensive to grow and process — commonly cited water footprints are around 10,000 litres per kilogram of cotton fiber or fabric, mostly irrigation, plus dyeing and finishing. Reusing or recycling cotton garments avoids part of that demand when they replace new production. When you include water savings, the calculator adds 1 point per kg of cotton or denim (0.5 per kg for mixed fabrics) to represent roughly 10,000 litres avoided per kg; it does not credit polyester or wool, whose impacts are dominated by energy and land use rather than irrigation water. A single kilogram of cotton clothing kept in use can spare thousands of litres of water.
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