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Compare the carbon footprint of new vs second-hand products, fast fashion, smartphones, and everyday purchases.
Reading 10+ books per year on an e-reader is typically lower carbon than buying new physical books. But library borrowing or buying second-hand books rivals or beats e-readers at any reading volume. The greenest option for most readers: use an e-reader for high-volume reading, or borrow physical books from a library.
Manufacturing a new smartphone produces 70–80 kg CO2e (Apple reports 61–83 kg for recent iPhones). A refurbished phone produces just 5–10 kg CO2e (from refurbishment, testing, and transport). Buying refurbished saves approximately 85–90% of the carbon emissions.
A new cotton t-shirt produces about 10 kg CO2e, a pair of jeans about 33 kg, and a polyester jacket about 15 kg. Buying the same items second-hand produces roughly 0.5–2 kg CO2e (from transport and cleaning only). Buying second-hand saves 80–95% of the carbon emissions compared to new.