It has been proven that Cannabis sativa (the plant from which hemp is made) absorbs a large amount of carbon dioxide when grown (see our previous article for more on the various environmental benefits of hemp).
We will begin converting and displaying the amount of CO2 absorbed per piece of clothing. This will be shown on each product page as the IQCC (Initial Quantity of Carbon Capture) value.
Note: This value is based on weavearth's own calculations and is not certified by a third party.
The calculation method is as follows:
A demonstration study has shown that Cannabis sativa fields cultivated by Kingdom, a hemp spinning company in Heilongjiang Province (northeastern China), absorb 13.7 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare, equivalent to the amount absorbed by a tropical rainforest.
From one hectare of this field, 750 kg of raw material is harvested. After retting and decortication, 300 kg of hemp yarn is produced.
From this calculation, we can see that there was about 45 kg of CO2 absorbed per kg of yarn at the time of harvest.
On the design side, it is possible to measure how much yarn is used per meter of fabric by weight.
From there, by calculating the actual amount of fabric used in each product, we can derive the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed per garment.
For example, in the case of this skirt:
WE2401G010 Hemp Bias Skirt
Fabric weight per square meter: 205 g/㎡
Fabric used per product (fabric width 1.4 m): 3.5 m/piece
Weight per piece (1.4 m × 0.205 kg/㎡ × 3.5 m/piece) = 1.0045 kg
Since the absorption is 45 kg per 1 kg, we can see that for this one skirt, about 45 kg of CO2 was absorbed during cultivation.
Of course, after harvesting, electricity is used in each factory process, so we recognize that CO2 emissions occur in these industrial processes. These emissions must be added and offset against the absorption amounts. In the future, we aim to measure and make these emissions “visible.”
Nevertheless, given this much CO2 absorption at harvest, we are confident that even after offsetting, the product itself contributes to carbon negativity. As an urgent response to the climate crisis, we will begin with what we can do right now, with awareness of CO2 emission issues.
The display is scheduled to start soon and will be updated progressively.
