Carbon footprint of nylon 6
Our calculator counts 9.10 kg CO₂e for every kilogram of nylon 6 in a product made in India. Below is where that figure comes from, how sure we are of it, and what it adds up to in finished products: 380 products in our catalogue, from 38 brands, contain nylon 6.
Where the figure comes from
The factor is Polyamide 6, for EUROPE. Source: Boustead / PlasticsEurope eco-profile Nylon 6 (2005), data year 2005.
Status: Primary source. Read from the publisher's own document.
An emission factor is the greenhouse gas emitted per unit of something, here per kilogram of material up to the point it is ready to be made into a product. Read emission factors explained, or see every factor and source in our methodology.
From material to product
A kilogram of nylon 6 is only the start. Making it into yarn, fabric, a sheet or a part, dyeing or finishing it, making the product, and packing and moving it all add emissions. So does the use and disposal of the product, for a whole-life figure.
That is why products with the same material can have quite different footprints: the weight, the factory's energy and the processes matter as much as the material itself.
Use your own data
If your mill or supplier can give you a footprint for the nylon 6 you buy, use it: it describes your material rather than a typical one, and raises your primary data share. Then footprint your product with your own data, or start from a product link.
Questions
What is the carbon footprint of nylon 6 per kg?
Our calculator uses 9.10 kg CO₂e per kg of nylon 6 for products made in India, taken from Boustead / PlasticsEurope eco-profile Nylon 6 (2005) (data year 2005). Other studies give other values, because farming or production methods, energy and system boundaries differ.
Does the material's footprint equal the product's footprint?
No. The material is one part. Spinning, weaving or forming, dyeing, making the product, packaging, transport, use and disposal are added on top, and offcuts mean more material is bought than ends up in the product.
How reliable is this emission factor?
Its status in our library is “Primary source”: Read from the publisher's own document. A supplier's own data for the material, such as a mill's footprint, replaces it when available.