Which has a smaller carbon footprint, a sweater made of wool or polyester fleece? It's a perfect mental calculus for that fall foliage traffic jam, or while gliding through autumn's blazing patchwork on a lower-carbon-emitting bus or train, or powering it on your own carbon-free feet or bike.  But wait.  What about the carbon footprint of your hiking boots or your bike frame? Every product has a carbon life cycle, based on emissions released in its production and shipping, that's coming increasingly under scrutiny. A good opp for those who love a puzzle.

Carbon footprinting involves highly complex calculations using all sorts of variables that, well, vary, depending on who's doing it. Patagonia's terrific Footprint Chronicles measure the CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts of 15 products, including clothing, luggage and shoes. Newly analyzed this season are their Wool2Crew (responsible for 47 lbs. of CO2) and Cashmere Hoody (a mere 7 lbs, even counting the shipping from Mongolia to California).  Both are lighter than the polyester fleece Talus rainjacket, which packs a heavy carbon history of 66 lbs., mostly due to the petroleum used to make the fiber. The recycled poly Synchilla vest represents only 26 lbs. Of course, to fairly compare it with the others, you'd have to calculate the weight of the missing sleeves. And, the company did not include the potent greenhouse gas methane , released by cows, sheep and goats, in its carbon measurements, according to Jill Dumain, Patagonia's director for environmental analysis. "We have been talking about how to include more information on several aspects of animals in the supply chain," Dumain adds. In the Kyoto Accords, methane and nitrous oxide are considered carbon equivalents . 

We suspect that, even with the methane added in, the natural fibers would still tread lighter on the earth. After all, they're a renewable resource. Another plus:  Patagonia's wool and cashmere come from happy animals grazed on pastures free of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Virtually visit these farms in New Zealand and Mongolia on slide shows, and fall in love with these totally cute cashmere goats. And if you're a leaf peeper and knitter, wool grown and processed organically by Vermont's Green Mountain Spinnery is worth a detour to pretty Putney. If you don't knit, consider an organic wool sweater like those sold here. Say baa-bah to pesticides and count carbon along with sheep.

Posted by Mindy Pennybacker on Oct 9, 2008 at 12:35 PM
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