Your Next Big Buyer Won't Ask for Price - They'll Ask for Your Scope 3

Every time we make a piece of clothing — from buying cotton to spinning yarn, weaving fabric, stitching garments, transporting, and even the way the customer washes it — we leave behind a footprint.

- Parvinder Singh

Introduction: Every Step Has a Footprint

That footprint is your carbon impact, and it's now being tracked more seriously than ever before.

This is where Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions come in — they measure how much greenhouse gas your business (and supply chain) emits at every stage.

And here's the big shift:

Your next buyer won't just ask for your product cost or lead time — they'll ask for your carbon data.

In India, ESG reporting is already mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies under SEBI's BRSR framework, and will soon expand to over 5,000 companies. That means these companies will need verified emission data from their suppliers — including textile MSMEs like yours.

Think of it like this — every time your business runs a machine, pays an electricity bill, buys a fabric roll, or sends goods to a buyer, there's some carbon involved.

In short:

Scope 1 = What you burn

Scope 2 = What you buy

Scope 3 = What your ecosystem emits because of you

Why Should You Care?

The textile and fashion industry contributes around 8–10% of global CO₂ emissions — more than aviation and shipping combined.

And about 90% of these emissions come from the supply chain, not from brand offices.

That means you — the manufacturer — are part of Scope 3.