Issue Summary
Items we buy have a carbon footprint associated with them (from production, use and disposal), and some of those carbon footprints are quite surprising.
Many products that we purchase are cheap (both the cost to us and also the quality) and made to be disposable. It can be quite difficult to tell the difference in sustainability between similar products
Sometimes it’s not clear how to make a better choice. For example, if you want to replace a plastic single use grocery bag with a reusable cotton bag, you need to use that cotton bag 131 times to have a lower carbon footprint.
Main contributors/problems
One estimate puts consumable goods at 12% of personal green house gas (GHG) emissions per year. – There is overlapping issue with transport — shipping via air emits 10x-50x CO2 per km compared to sea freight, 5x-15x compared to train transport and 3x-8x compared to truck transport.
Approximate Carbon Footprint of some typical products
- Clothing: T-shirt = 6 kg (typical lifetime: 2 years) Long-sleeved shirt = 10 kg (but increases to 19 kg if using a dryer and iron every time)
- Furniture: CARBON FOOTPRINT (typical lifetime: 8 years)
- Computer: 375 kg + operational carbon footprint (typical lifetime: 3 years)
What can we do personally / congregationally?
We can consume less.
When purchasing a product pick a product that is quality and will last. If a product is used for twice as long as usual, then the carbon footprint from the production stage is halved. Mending can increase the life of your clothing. Re-upholstering a piece of furniture increases the life of the frame.
Laundry: Use cold water and dry clothes on clothes line ex. 9 kg less for a long sleeve shirt that is dried on a clothes and is not ironed
Create a car kit with items such as re-usable straws, travel cups/mugs, take-out containers
Choose best-in-class products, especially for commonly used essential items (ex. Toilet paper)
What is the end goal / solution?
Implementation of carbon footprint labelling on goods (informing consumers)
Developing products and processes that reduce carbon emissions in goods production (manufacture-level action)
Taxing high-carbon goods to pass true cost through to the consumer?
Websites/Links for more information?
…
WNMC Contact People/Resources regarding goods consumption
AndreaT