Greenhouse Gas Emissions are emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change by creating a greenhouse effect in the Earth’s atmosphere. The major component of greenhouse emissions is carbon dioxide especially from the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc. One of the biggest contributors sector-wise to Greenhouse Emissions is the Transportation sector.
Transportation accounts for about one-fifth of global carbon dioxide emissions. In some countries (especially the richer countries) transportation can be one of the largest segments of carbon footprint for an individual. For example, in the United States, about 29% of total Greenhouse Emissions come from Transportation making it the largest contributor to Greenhouse Emissions. Moreover, between 1990, and 2019 the Greenhouse Emissions in the transportation sector in the United States increased more than any other sector.
As the world progresses in Globalisation the need for transportation is increasing. One of the industries that requires a strong transportation network is the clothing industry since clothes travel around the world to different customers in various countries. There are four main modes of transportation used in the clothing industry which are Air, Ship, Road, or Rail.
Air: Air travel is one of the most efficient methods of transportation over long distances, and across oceans. However, air travel is also extremely expensive, and energy-intensive. Statistics indicate that air travel produces 500 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometer traveled per ton transported.
Ship: Transportation by ships is one of the slowest modes of transportation with some shipments taking a few weeks to even months to arrive. In addition to being slow, transportation through ships is limited in the sense that only a few cities around the world have ports to receive commodities. However, Ship transportation is environmentally friendly compared to other modes of transportation since it merely produces 10-40 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometer traveled per ton transported.
Road: Road transport is a popular, and cheap method of transportation locally, or over short distances. However, Road travel is unpredictable due to traffic congestion, weather, etc., so the time taken for goods to be delivered can’t be accurately predicted in the case of Road transport. Road transport has limited carbon dioxide emissions as well (60-150 grams for every kilometer traveled per ton transported).
Rail: Rail transport is a greener and efficient mode of transporting commodities from one place to another. However, the issue with Rail transport lies in the available infrastructure, and Rail network of a region. Rail transport produces about 30-100 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometer traveled per ton transported.
Overall it is observed that no mode of transport in the clothing industry is perfect, so in order for companies to increase their profits, while ensuring environmental sustainability there is a need to reduce unnecessary transportation. One way to accomplish this is making the switch to Hand Made Stones (HMS). If a company uses HMS instead of traditional stones for the stone washing process they could reduce their stone shipments by about 60-100 times due to HMS’s durability. Thus, instead of getting between tens of pumice stone shipments, just 1 shipment of HMS would help companies increase their profit, and optimize their production process, and reduce their carbon footprint. Make the shift to HMS today.