Carbon Footprint Labels hit the catwalk at SLDF

Thursday, 24 November 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Carbon Consulting Company joined forces with rising young Sri Lankan designer Kasuni of KŨR to launch her line of sustainable designs at the 2011 Sri Lankan Design Festival.

KasuniRathnasuriya, founder and owner of KṸR has set herself a challenging task to develop and introduce ethical garments that are produced with the utmost sensitivity to their social, economic and environmental impact.

As part of positioning KŨR as an ethical brand and creating a socially and environmentally sustainable product line, Kasuni collaborated with The Carbon Consulting Company to calculate the product footprint of key products of her latest collection. The Carbon Consulting Company performed a comprehensive Carbon Life Cycle Analysis and in doing so the total carbon emissions emitted from a single product was calculated from “cradle to gate”; or from the stage of raw material extraction and production, up until the stage of distribution. For this comprehensive analysis, every carbon emission source was identified and accounted for. From the energy consumption at the design stage, including the number of papers, the number of lights used, to the carbon content of the thread and lace, the energy consumption at the production stage, to the transportation of the raw materials and final product, every aspect of the footprint was considered, to give consumers and buyers a complete understanding of the environmental impact of the product.

This exhaustive and challenging exercise proved to be a winning solution in creating an environmentally sustainable product. From a marketing perspective, not only does the carbon label add value and to a high end product aimed at a niche market but also makes it more appealing to the growing number of environmentally conscious consumers around the world. This carbon label also proved to be an invaluable educational tool to both the designer and consumer. Through this carbon life cycle assessment or product footprint the producer, was able to identify where and how most carbon emissions were emitted during the production process. In having done so she is now able to take stock of her entire design and manufacturing process and is better equipped to make sound environmentally conscious decisions during the design stage itself.

The Carbon Consulting Company ( CCC ) which performed the comprehensive product life cycle, has been created with the purpose of helping organizations reduce their environmental impact and maximize the CSR and marketing opportunities arising from these efforts. The CCC’s mission is to help corporate leaders and decision makers develop the skill sets and knowledge base that would be required for survival in the dawning era of a low carbon economy. The CCC is a CARBON FOOTPRINT EXPERT certified company, and is accredited by the CARBON TRUST, the UK Government’s carbon standards body. It is also an official certifier of the CarbonNeutral Company of the UK.