MATLOCK – [07.08.08] A new on-line calculator which allows consumers to calculate the environmental impact of their clothing has been launched by Colour Connections Ltd – the same company which developed the ground-breaking textile eco-metrics for manufacturers and clothing brands.

The new ‘Household Textile Environmental Impact Calculator’ differs from textile eco-metrics in that it's aimed specifically at shoppers instead of the textile industry. Using a series of drop-down menus and a set of complex mathematics hidden behind its user friendly interface allows consumers to assess the environmental impact of the choices they make when they buy, care and dispose of household textiles and clothing.

All users have to do is choose from a list of common clothing items in terms of how many items they buy and how they are disposed in a twelve month period. Then users are asked how these items are washed, dried and ironed in a typical week. After pressing the 'calculate' button, users score a rating in terms of 'Environmental Damage Units' or EDU’s. The EDU value is an environmental measure which is scientifically arrived at based on water and energy use, the use of non-renewable resources and pollution.

The overall EDU score for each item of clothing depends on each individual consumer’s buying preferences, how they care for their garments and ultimately how they dispose of them.

“You may be surprised at how much impact your personal or family clothing preferences have on the environment,” said Phil Patterson, managing director of Colour Connections. “Doing one fewer tumble drying cycle per week saves 170 EDU’s, which is enough to make the fabric for 50 pairs of underpants.”

CLICK HERE to see how your wardrobe stacks up.