The Brown and Wilmanns Environmental Textile Environmental Calculator (BWE TEC) helps textile, apparel, and footwear companies deliver environmental performance to their customers through better decisions about the materials in their products. The tool gauges environmental impact performance for a wide range of fibers and textiles across the product life cycle, from the origins of raw materials to finished textiles. Using data from life cycle inventory databases, published and unpublished life cycle assessment studies, material safety data sheets, and government databases on chemical hazards, the BWE TEC incorporates industry-recognized indicators such as energy, water and land use, human and ecological toxicity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Users can apply the system’s default weighting or customize how to weight each impact category. They can also choose to use their own supply-chain data, generic data, or a combination of the two. The calculator outputs results using easy-to-understand graphic visualizations. The BWE TEC can also be used to gauge the environmental performance of textiles that use fiber blends, based on the percentage of each fiber in the blend.
The BWE TEC is especially helpful to product development and design teams, fabric sourcing and sustainability staff, and material suppliers. It can evaluate textiles already used in existing apparel and footwear lines, compare alternative material scenarios, and track overall changes in environmental performance across product lines.