Polyester T-Shirts produce 58% more emissions than cotton

MONTREAL – Polyester T-Shirts generate almost 58 per cent more greenhouse gas emissions than cotton equivalents a new life-cycle assessment (LCA) foubd. However, the researchers caution that neither fibre is environmentally preferable across every impact category.

The study, published in the journal Cleaner Waste Systems, calculated emissions of 9.62kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) for a polyester T-shirt, compared with 6.10kg for a cotton garment.