About

The True Cost Calculator is a free online tool for fashion professionals to measure, compare, and minimize the environmental and social impact of garments throughout the entire lifecycle. From raw material production to end-of-life.

By comparing and adjusting lifecycle scenarios, fashion professionals can understand and reduce the environmental and social impact of their collections. 

The tool is intended for fashion designers, buyers, sustainability managers, and other decision makers in fashion companies.

Who's behind this tool?

The True Cost Calculator was developed by the research organization VITO and the Flemish fashion center Flanders DC as a part of the SCIRT project. This Horizon 2020 project aims to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion system through technological innovation in textile-to-textile recycling, by stimulating conscious design and production practices and by raising awareness of the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry. 

Want to know more about the methodology behind this tool?
Read all about it on the ‘How it works’ page. 

Looking for ways to lower the true cost of your fashion collections?
Check out the Close The Loop website, a guide filled with advice for a circular fashion industry.