@BillRM,
BillRM wrote:
Sure there would be no problem to come up with concrete figures for energy used of tens of thousand plus items.
Sarcasm isn't an argument. It's a ploy to manipulate agreement based on emotional response to the tone of sarcasm.
Quote:No way would that likely even be possible or meaningful for the matter.
Why not? If each manufacturer, starting with raw materials, keeps track of how much fuel and energy they use; they can divide their numbers by the amount of products produced. E.g. if a cotton farmer purchases a certain amount of fuel to run tractors, bailers, etc. then they just report that the same way they would report itemized deductions for income tax.
Then the shipper bringing the cotton to a factory to make into cloth does the same, and so forth for each stage of the supply chain. When all the stages are added up, you get total quantities to report on product labels and consumers and retailers can compare which products use less carbon/energy and promote those products to customers with low-carbon/low-energy/low-waste distinctions.
Companies could also promote their products with claims about how they innovate to reduce fuel and energy use, for example by using bus transit for commuting and business travel instead of driving and flying.