Every metre of fabric carries a hidden environmental footprint, from the energy used in spinning mills to the water consumed in dye houses. Traditionally, those impacts are locked in forever, whether the material is used in a garment or left idle in a warehouse.

That’s why we built the Surplus Impact Calculator: a practical tool that quantifies the carbon emissions, water use, and textile waste savings unlocked when businesses choose surplus fabric instead of new.

Now live on every Circular Sourcing product page, the calculator gives instant results, and auto-generates a Material Impact and Verification record at checkout.

Why Surplus Matters

– The textile industry extracts 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources every year (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future’)
– It consumes 93 billion m³ of water annually (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future’)
– And tens of millions of tonnes of fabric are going to waste annually, with around 21% of textiles not being sold or utilised as intended (European Environment Agency, 2024)

By using surplus, brands prevent those impacts from increasing, decoupling growth from resource extraction. The calculator makes this benefit measurable, so sourcing teams can see the climate impact of using what already exists, in real time.

How the Surplus Impact Calculator Works

Commissioning bespoke life cycle assessments (LCA) for every surplus fabric roll is unfeasible due to the nature of surplus. Small lots and limited datasets mean the cost and time intensity is unlikely to be invested in, however, understanding the use of surplus is critical in a transition to a circular economy. So, we developed a streamlined but credible model for estimating impact with RMIT University:

Robust dataset: >80 peer-reviewed textile LCAs plus industry databases.
Clear boundaries: cradle-to-gate (fibre to fabric) and gate-to-gate (wet processing).
Median values: harmonised and conservative factors expressed per kg and per metre.
Data gaps: filled using standardised averages to maintain consistency.

In short: enter metres, see an average CO₂e, water, and waste savings (when compared to buying a similar material new) instantly for use in internal decision making. Note: results should not be used for public facing claims.

Using the Calculator

1. Select surplus fabric on Circular Sourcing.
2. Enter metres you plan to source.
3. View instant results for embodied CO₂e, water, and waste savings.
4. Download an Impact and Material Verification Sheet at checkout for internal records and ESG reporting.

For enterprise buyers, impacts from multiple orders can be visualised and exported for year-to-date reporting.

What’s Next

The Surplus Impact Calculator will continue to evolve:
– Dynamic updates as new LCA data is published.
– Process-specific modifiers for dyeing, finishing, and transport as we grow traceability of datasets for surplus.
– Portfolio-wide impact views, including for surplus sourced outside Circular Sourcing.
– ERP/PLM integration via API to embed impact data directly into material libraries.

Learn More

The Surplus Impact Calculator turns the principle of “use what already exists” into a measurable climate strategy. By making surplus transparent, traceable, and reportable, it transforms excess textiles from a warehouse liability into a climate-positive resource.

Dive deeper into the methodology: download the Guide to Surplus.