Although water is a key component in fashion and apparel—for growing cotton, producing denim, dying garments and more—it is often overshadowed by other ESG-related issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions and labor.
March 22 marks World Water Day, a global observation sparked by the United Nations focused on the importance of fresh water. Climate activists and industry players alike have, over time, come to use the day as a time to advocate for stable, sustainable management and use of water.
But fashion and apparel could be a threat to that dream.
The industry contributes to about one-fifth of total industrial wastewater globally and consumes about 79 trillion tons of water annually, according to a study by international academics versed in the industry.
According to the UN, when non-organic cotton is used to produce one pair of jeans via standard processes, it requires about 10,000 liters of water to grow. That amount is equal to what the average human would drink over a 10-year period.
For all its efforts around sustainability, fashion still seems to be drowning in a massive water use and abuse problem—but some industry players have been working toward solutions.
Science-based wastewater dye removal
Throughout the industry, scientists, startups and large organizations have been coming to grips with fashion’s negative impacts on water systems and the environment at large.
Just this week, ahead of World Water Day, scientists at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, announced they had discovered a way to separate toxic dyes, like azo dyes, from contaminated water using photocatalysis powered by UV light.
Although wastewater plants help treat some of the toxins, chemicals and plastics found in water, not all contaminants can be effectively removed, said Anahita Motamedisade, a research fellow at Griffith University.
“The reason for this is that some chemicals, especially those with aromatic rings, are resistant to chemical, photochemical and biological degradation,” Motamedisade said.
For that reason, other industry titans have already become active in innovating around water usage and recycling.
Industrial facilities
Gap and Arvind opened their joint Water Innovation Center at the manufacturer’s Santej, India mill in January. The facility has been charged with changing the way the fashion and apparel industries consider, use and manage water and the waste created by the industry’s processes.
The two companies opened the facility in collaboration with the Global Water Innovation Center (GWICA). It allows water from anywhere in the world to be tested and analyzed and will work to educate the industry, create innovations that help solve water waste and pollution problems in the fashion industry and more.
The center is open for tours and aims to display the most relevant innovations in water processing as an increasing number of brands and retailers begin to fret over their impacts.
Other suppliers have also begun building facilities to tackle their wastewater impact.
Denim Expert Limited (DEL) announced earlier this month that it will open a new biological effluent treatment plant (ETP) at its Chittagong, Bangladesh facility in line with its goal for 100 percent wastewater recycling.
Commitments and targets
Brands have started to meet—and upgrade—their goals around water usage, even before it becomes wastewater. For example, American Eagle Outfitters stated in its 2022 impact report that it had decreased the amount of water needed to create a pair of jeans by 38 percent, surpassing its initial goal of cutting water usage by 30 percent by 2023. The company is now on its way toward recycling 70 percent of the water used in its denim laundry by 2025.
Other brands, like Adidas, Inditex, PVH and Tapestry have only begun the work of setting water targets, starting with smaller pieces of the puzzle. For example, Adidas has targets around the efficiency of its water use and its overall consumption, but not around water pollution reduction or water recycling.
But recent Planet Tracker data shows these companies may be trekking through unprecedented waters largely unsupported. The organization reported in February that less than 10 percent of fashion and apparel companies mentioned risks related to water in their impact or sustainability reports.