1. Water is central to sustainable development
Global leaders, businesses, and organisations are currently working on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which will be agreed upon in collaboration with the UN next year. Rami Abdelrahman, programme coordinator for the Sweden Textile Water Initiative believes that a dedicated SDG on water is crucial for guiding water resource users towards sustainable management.
2. “Peak water” is being taken increasingly seriously
For the fashion industry, access to water is essential for cotton cultivation, textile dyeing and finishing. With water use predicted to increase by 50% between 2007 and 2025 in developing countries and 18% in developed ones, there is a growing awareness of the potential challenges that come from increasing competition for this finite resource.
These concerns are translating into collaboration. In Bangladesh, thePartnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) brings together buyers, factories and technical specialists to improve its textile wet processing sector. TheBetter Mill Initiative in China is focused on solutions for the conservation of water and energy, pollution, and improved chemical management. It began as a collaboration between Solidaridad and H&M and has since involved brands including C&A, Primark and New Look.
In Sweden too, a sector wide collaboration is underway between the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and around 30 Swedish brands to assess water risk in supply chains and develop industry guidelines for the sustainable use of water resources in processes.
However, it’s not all good news as Cate Lamb, head of CDP’s water programme points to CDP research indicating that water-related issues are still low on the agenda of business leaders across all sectors.
3. There’s a strong business case for the fashion industry to manage its water footprint
CDP’s Global Water Report 2013 found that almost 60% of 500 global companies have already experienced the detrimental impacts of water. In 2011 for example, floods in Thaliand forced Intel to cut its revenue forecast by $1bn and Gap was forced to cut its profit forecast by 22% after drought cut into the cotton crop in Texas.
There is a clear business case in water as a cost-carrier of energy, waste and chemicals. As Solidaridad’s senior programme manager, Marieke Weerdesteijn points: “if excessive water is used in textile dyeing, it needs to be heated, more process chemicals are needed and [then] after the process treated in the effluent treatment plant. When you add these costs, water saving measures do show a good return on investment.”
Often though as Laila Petrie of WWF says, the real business case for responsible water stewardship isn’t about profit and loss, but about brand reputation and securing a social licence to operate.
4. Water issues can be a non-competitive space
When it comes to water, fashion brands face the same risks across their supply chains. As Stuart Harker, managing director of the Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI) notes, an inclusive and pragmatic approach is paramount to achieving the fashion industry’s water ambitions.
The geographical dispersion of production sites is low and therefore different players can benefit from collaborating on select engagements in priority river basins.
5. There is a broad consensus that production should stay put, rather than move to G20 countries
Some argue that the large-scale production of textiles should move to countries where there is more water, more forms of clean energy and an infrastructure capable of water recycling.
Felix Ockborn, responsible for H&M’s corporate water strategy argues that the issue should be looked at more holistically. The textile industry has been key to economic development in many countries and is tied to issues such as job creation and economic empowerment. Although some smaller brands are moving production back to G20 countries, CDP’s Lamb believes big brands will lose out on an opportunity to create meaningful action if they walk away.
6. There are alternatives to water thirsty cotton
According to WWF, it can take up to 2,700 litres to produce the cottonneeded to make a single t-shirt. The Better Cotton Initiative is trying to minimise this environmental impact by educating farmers on reducing water and pesticide use.
Novozymes meanwhile, has been working on creating water savings in textile processing and its global marketing director Peter Faaborg, says that enzymatic textile processing can save up to 25% of the water traditionally used in cotton textile manufacturing.
Still, cotton is ranked in class E (least sustainable) in the Made-BY environmental benchmark for fibres. Made-BY senior consultant, Ariel Kraten, contends that cotton could be replaced by CRAiLAR, a class B fibre which, like linen, comes from the fast-growing flax plant. CRAiLAR is turned into a fibre more like cotton when spun using a particular enzyme process.
7. Recyling water is technically possible but still faces problems scaling up
The chemicals left in water limit the ability to recycle it, but Levi’s recently worked with one of its Chinese suppliers to make 100,000 pairs of jeans using 100% recycled water, so it can be done.
However, water regulation (or lack of it) is a huge determining factor in the speed at which water recycling will gain ground. Weerdesteijn says it is likely to be adopted far faster in China than in Bangladesh, because cleaner production is part of government policy in China, along with a gradual increase in water recycling in specific sectors.
8. Managing the water impacts of dyeing starts with good housekeeping
Through easy, low-cost measures like installing nozzles on hoses, quite a lot of water and energy can be saved. When existing processes are optimised for sustainability, the next step is identifying process modifications such as the use of enzymes or high fixation and low salt dyestuffs.
9. Fashion brands can influence sustainable water use beyond factory walls
By educating and training factory management and workers on sustainable water and energy, typically low-tech solutions such as identifying leaks, fixing broken pipes and reusing heated water can be applied at home and in communities.
10. You have power as a consumer
Beyond fields, factory floors and high street shelves, one of the biggest water impacts of fashion happens at home. Initiatives such as Clever Careand the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higgs Index have the potential to increase consumer awareness around sustainable fashion but there are immediate practical steps you can take to minimise your water footprint. You can air instead of wash, choose good detergents and efficient wash programs, and hand unwanted garments into recycling programmes.
WWF’s Petrie presents three important questions to ask of your favourite brands: Are they setting targets on managing their supply chain water impacts? Are the moving towards more sustainable raw materials? Are they working with others to address water problems in important river basins?
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