Does buying secondhand clothes really cut emissions?
A garment's footprint is mostly locked in before you wear it, so re-use spreads that cost over more wears.
Compared on: one cotton t-shirt worn 50 times
New cotton t-shirt
6.5 kg CO₂eCotton growing, spinning, dyeing, manufacture and freight.
Source: Published textile LCA ranges (cradle-to-shelf cotton jersey)
New polyester t-shirt
5.5 kg CO₂eFossil feedstock but lower agricultural and dyeing burden.
Source: Published textile LCA ranges
Secondhand t-shirt
0.60 kg CO₂eRetail logistics and washing only — production is already accounted for.
Source: Re-use displacement approach; production burden attributed to first owner
What this means
- Buying secondhand avoids roughly 90% of a garment's footprint.
- Wearing what you own twice as long halves its footprint per wear — free and immediate.
- Washing cooler and line-drying cuts the use phase, which is small but not nothing.
Your own number, not an average
Averages answer the question; your own footprint tells you what to change first. The calculator takes about two minutes and needs no account.
Figures are averages drawn from public databases and peer-reviewed LCA work; see our methodology for how each factor is applied.