Global fashion companies have been stepping up efforts to address water and management issues in garment-making countries. However, as population growth and climate change lead to greater water shortages, changing the way industrial water is used is the key to ensuring the future development of the industry.
In recent weeks, jeans giant Levi Strauss has set new water management goals for global suppliers. -size-fits-all) to a more responsive approach with an urgent focus on reducing resource use.
PVHCorp, which owns its brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, plans to provide clean water to purchasing communities with the greatest water source pressure by 2025. This initiative is part of the group’s “Future Fashion” ( ForwardFashion) is one of the key tasks in the corporate responsibility strategy.
American specialty retailer Gap has partnered with Arvind Limited to open a new innovation center aimed at reducing water use in textile manufacturing. ArvindLimited is Gap’s long-term partner responsible for purchasing and franchising business in India.
Recently, 32 major fashion and textile companies around the world (including adidas, H&M, Inditex, FungGroup, Nike, PVH) signed a new sustainable development agreement. One of the three key pillars of the agreement, the Ocean Commitment, aims to tackle plastic and microfiber pollution and protect rivers and oceans from the release of toxic chemicals along the production chain.
Given that water scarcity (that is, not having enough water to meet demand) has become an escalating challenge, it will only increase as the global population grows and resources are consumed. Growing, and made worse by factors such as climate change, industry concerns are not surprising.
With increasing population pressure and the impact of climate change, WWF believes that water resources challenges pose a serious threat to the future development of the textile and apparel industry.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, one of the leading advocates of water resources management, nearly 2 billion people live in areas at risk of severe water shortages. Two-thirds of the world’s population faces water shortages for at least several months every year.
(1) Disturbing facts
But for the garment and textile industries, the problem There is another layer of meaning. From cotton cultivation through textile production to dyeing, this industry is not only one of the largest and most intensive water users in the world, but the disturbing fact is that many of the countries where the products are produced are experiencing severe water shortages.
In addition, workers in these areas and the wider community have limited access to safe water and sanitation facilities, as well as poor understanding of healthy hygiene practices. communities are facing serious health risks.
In fact, this number is surprisingly high. About half of textiles are made from cotton, and cotton is one of the crops with the largest planting area and the largest water consumption, accounting for about 2.5% of all arable land and more than 3% of all crop production.
“WWF” believes that 42 square meters of land is needed to produce enough raw materials to meet everyone’s consumption demand for cotton. It is estimated that producing just 1 kilogram of cotton requires 20,000 liters of water, which is equivalent to the amount of cotton required to produce a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
The impact of cotton field cultivation will also extend to soil erosion and degradation. Fertilizers and pesticides run off through cotton fields and pollute rivers, lakes, wetlands and underground aquifers. Overuse of pesticides can also cause health concerns for farm workers and nearby residents.
But it’s not just about the growing supply of raw materials for water-intensive crops. For the production of each T-shirt, it is estimated that the entire supply chain from cotton fields to finished product processing requires approximately 2,700 liters of water, which is equivalent to the average person’s drinking water in the past three years.
Laila Petrie, head of textiles and cotton at WWF, said: The current widespread droughts and floods, climate change, infrastructure investment and reputational issues will all Spread into more problems, especially when the government lacks capacity and supervision. This is not something that the industry can solve alone.
The production of each pair of jeans requires an additional 7,000 liters of water. A large fabric factory uses millions of gallons of water every day for denim dyeing operations. . Chemicals used in production, including dye fixatives, oxidants, reducing agents, and enzymes, are washed away during the dyeing process and flow out of the wastewater.
(2) Serious threat to the future
According to the analysis of the World Wildlife Fund, the global Seven of the top 10 textile-producing countries (accounting for 58% of global production) are facing an exacerbation of the problem and face physical risks to water resources that could affect their operations.
In addition, these countries that suffer from major reputational and governance risks are already facing uncontrolled risks. At present, they still control at least 61% of the world’s textile and clothing exports. value (worth $472 billion). This is in water resources policy, law enforcement��More active engagement in resource management and sustainable energy planning to address the region’s key challenges of upstream dam development, mining and over-exploitation of groundwater.
2. China-Taihu Lake Basin (Taihu Lake Basin)
According to World Trade Organization (WTO) data, The textile industry is the key to China’s economy, with a total economic value of approximately US$1 trillion in 2018 and exports of US$118.5 billion. Today, China’s textile industry extracts more than 3 trillion liters of water, accounting for 8% of total industrial water use, making textiles the fourth largest industrial water user in China.
The Taihu Basin Plan has been in operation since 2011 and is the first “Water Resources Management Plan” implemented by the World Wildlife Fund. The Taihu Basin, located in the center of the Yangtze River Delta region in eastern China, is an important wetland area and a hub of China’s manufacturing industry, accounting for 37% of textile production. It includes more than 50 national and provincial industrial parks, 14 Fortune 500 companies, hundreds of international and domestic brands, and nearly 10,000 textile printing and dyeing factories.
The plan aims to improve the operation of the basin through industrial transformation, with an initial focus on the textile industry. By 2030, the goal is to promote improved freshwater ecosystems and optimize water resource governance.
WWF’s current work in China also includes working with H&M Group, HSBC and Tommy Hilfiger to provide water to 10,000 textile factories in China training in resource management, launching water management standards for industrial parks, and working with key government departments to support national-level sustainable textile policies and regulations.
3. Turkey—Büyük Menderes Basin
The textile and leather industry is the main industry in the Büyük Menderes Basin region, including It accounts for 40% of Turkey’s national leather production, 60% of Turkey’s total textile exports, and 14% of Turkey’s national cotton production. The district exports US$3.5 billion annually, and Denzili City alone is home to 10 of Turkey’s top 500 companies.
The river delta is considered an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) for breeding and wintering waterbirds, but is subject to extreme water stress pressure.
With the support of H&M Group and IKEA, “Cleaner Production Methods in the Textile Sector” helps textile companies adopt some methods that can reduce water resources, chemicals and Energy, solid waste and wastewater reduction processes. The program is intended to serve as a model for water conservation and sustainable use that can be scaled to other parts of Turkey.
So far, seven suppliers in the region have joined the plan, investing 6.5 million euros (equivalent to 7.2 million US dollars) in improving more efficient production. technology and save 1.5 million cubic meters of water resources. A further 12 textile producers and an additional €3 million investment are also lined up to join.
Another four domestic and international fashion brands, Altinyildiz, BoynerGroup, Koton and Yünsa, have joined the Collective Action Committee (Collective Action Committee), which was first launched by the H&M Group and obtained The participation of Inditex (Zara) increases the size of the committee. All committee members are expected to actively participate in the process, emphasizing their emphasis on sustainable production and supporting the transformation of Büyük Menderes textile producers.
