hangnote Beta

Life cycle estimate · cradle to grave

Laid out in the four phases a life cycle assessment usually follows. Change the garment in phase 1 and every diagram, inventory line and result below recalculates from Hangnote's own model.

Screening estimate, not a certified study

Phase 1

Goal and scope

Functional unit

Goal

Show where one garment's impact comes from and which choices change it most. A screening study for the public, not for product claims.

Impact categories

System boundary

Cradle to grave, in seven stages. Left out: capital goods, retail, your trip to the shop, detergent, mill process water and natural-fibre shedding.

Change the garment

Study settings
Allocation
All burdens go to the garment. Recycling uses the cut-off approach, with no credit for recycled material.
Cut-off
Inputs below 1% of the climate result stay inside the stage factors.
Data
Factors from Hangnote's Methodology tables; some inventory amounts are derived from them and labelled.
Time and place
Current technology. Factory grid of the making country, household grid for washing.
Review
No critical review. Scenario comparisons are for learning only.

Phase 2

Inventory analysis

The process tree of one life cycle. Each box is a process; lines carry its output to the next process, drawn thicker the more it carries. Click any box to see its inputs and outputs.

Life cycle inventory

Open a stage to see its flows

Amounts are per functional unit. Hangnote's factors already combine CO₂, methane and nitrous oxide into CO₂e, so the inventory reports greenhouse gases as CO₂e for each process. A full inventory would list each gas separately. Model is a value straight from the Methodology tables, Derived is calculated from those values, and Assumption is an extra assumption used only to show the amount.

Phase 3

Impact assessment

From cradle to grave

Each stage adds to the running total

Where each impact comes from

Share of each category by life-cycle stage

Assessment steps

Which steps this estimate includes
✓
Category selectionThree categories, set in phase 1.
✓
ClassificationEach inventory flow is assigned to its category.
◐
CharacterisationClimate uses CO₂e factors. Water and microfibres stay at inventory level.
–
NormalisationOptional. Not done.
–
Grouping and weightingOptional. Not done, so categories are never added together.

Phase 4

Interpretation

Significant issues

The biggest contributor in each category

Sensitivity check

Lowers the resultRaises the resultBlack line: this study

Uncertainty

Likely range from the data-quality ranges in Methodology

Evaluation

Checks on the result
◐
CompletenessAll seven stages are covered. Mill water, detergent and capital goods are left out.
✓
SensitivityEight key choices are varied above.
◐
ConsistencySame factor set throughout. Data age and region differ between sources.

Conclusions, limitations and recommendations