Clothed in Conservation: Fashion & Water (2024)

FAQs

Does the fashion industry currently use enough water to quench the thirst of 110 million people for an entire year? ›

The fashion industry currently uses enough water to quench the thirst of 110 million people for an entire year. To produce just one cotton shirt requires approximately 2500 litres of water [7].

One of the major chemical-culprits used in clothing manufacturing is chemical dye. It's estimated that around 20% of all global water pollution comes from the dyeing of textiles. Unfortunately, the water used to apply chemicals and dye fabrics is often then dumped back into rivers and other waterways.

You may not know that it takes 2,700 litres of water to make one t-shirt - enough for one person to drink for 900 days.

Solutions to addressing water shortages include dams and reservoirs, rainwater harvesting, aqueducts, desalination, water reuse, and water conservation.

Water is used for bleaching, dyeing, finishing, softening, growing, spinning, and more.

The industry produces an estimated 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The production and distribution of the crops, fibers, and garments used in fashion all contribute to differing forms of environmental pollution, including water, air, and soil degradation.

The fashion industry consumes copious amounts of water and generates huge amounts of wastewater. As a result, the fashion industry is responsible for the consumption of 79 trillion litres of water annually, contributing to about 20% of industrial wastewater [6].

The fashion industry is the second most water-intensive industry, using a whopping 79 billion cubic meters of water per year to produce textiles. With water scarcity on the rise, the fashion industry must take steps to minimize its usage so that our most important resource can be left for those who need it.

Agriculture uses 70% of the world's freshwater.

Why does it take so much water to make a cotton T-shirt? ›

One reason for the drastic number of water use in commercial production is due to the crowded growing conditions of the cotton plants, where between 40,000-45,000 plants are growing in 1 acre! In general, one kg of cotton takes around 20,000 litres. This would be enough cotton for one t-shirt and one pair of jeans!

For a cotton T-shirt, its footprint starts at the farm, where the cotton is grown. If it's conventional cotton, the pesticides are the first thing to take a toll. Then you have to add up the water, the GHGs emitted during the production, transportation, washing, and wasting of our clothes.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, textile production uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water annually — the equivalent to 37 million Olympic swimming pools.

The growth, manufacturing, transporting, and washing of cotton uses huge amounts of water. For example, it takes about 2,700 liters of water to make just one t-shirt , which is enough water for one person to drink for 900 days. And, let's not forget the wear and tear on the t-shirt once purchased.

Major Causes of Water Scarcity

Increased human consumption. Overuse and wastage of water. A global rise in freshwater demand. Overuse of aquifers and its consequent slow recharge.

Untreated waste water can affect ecosystems through oxygen depletion, biodegradation of organic materials, and water-borne pathogens. Every ecosystem relies on water, however big or small.

Waste is prevalent in every part of the fashion industry, as a result of overproduction, over consumption and problematic end-of-life solutions. Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck load of clothes is burnt or buried in landfill. This statistic, revealed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is scary.

Plastic fibres are polluting the oceans, the wastewater, toxic dyes, and the exploitation of underpaid workers. Fast fashion is big business, and while the environmental costs are rising, experts say there is another way: a circular economy for textiles.

The Dark Side of Fast Fashion

It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.

How does clothing waste affect the environment? ›

Water pollution

Laundering synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment. A single laundry load of polyester clothes can discharge 700,000 microplastic fibres that can end up in the food chain.

These plastic-based textiles have a significant impact on the environment and climate throughout their life cycle due to emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants. The textile sector is a growing contributor to the climate crisis, with about 1% of crude oil production used to produce synthetic fibres.

Any fibers that come off clothes washed this way go straight into the lake or river. When clothes are washed in a washing machine, thousands of fibers break away from clothing in every washing machine cycle. These fibers go down the drain and end up in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) (Figure 1) [1].

~80% of all secondhand clothing is downcycled, exported or landfilled. The average consumer now buys 60% more pieces of clothing than 15 years ago and keeps each item for half as long. $500b of value is lost every year due to lack of recycling and clothes thrown into landfills before ever being sold.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), industrial water is used for fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting a product. Water is also used by smelting facilities, petroleum refineries, and industries producing chemical products, food, and paper products.

Industries will be affected in ways that may not seem obvious now. The food and beverage sector, power generation, mining, high tech, and pulp and paper all depend heavily on water and are thus directly exposed to water scarcity.

It's estimated that the fashion industry currently uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water per year, which is four percent of all freshwater extraction globally. On current trends, this amount is set to double by 2030.

When the cotton is wet, the water present forms additional hydrogen bonds increasing the strength of the cotton.

Does water ruin cotton clothes? ›

Washing cotton in hot water can cause shrinkage. While cotton fabrics tend to have a maximum shrinkage capacity, heat can cause your cotton items to permanently shrink. Avoid this by using cold water when washing cotton, or alternating between warm and cold washes.

Cotton's pores tend to trap air, resulting in a lower density than water. Cotton floats on water because cotton is lighter than water.

Cotton can absorb water up to 24 - 27 times its own weight [5]. The fiber is almost pure cellulose and is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile.

Cotton fibers get stronger when wet, viscose rayon losses strength when wet and petroleum made synthetic fibers are not absorbent, so their strength unchanged when wet.

The fashion industry consumes copious amounts of water and generates huge amounts of wastewater. As a result, the fashion industry is responsible for the consumption of 79 trillion litres of water annually, contributing to about 20% of industrial wastewater [6].

Agriculture accounts for the largest loss of water (80-90% of total U.S. consumptive water use). Of the 118 Bgal/d freshwater withdrawn for irrigation, over half is lost to consumptive use.

Dyeing and finishing are responsible for 3 per cent of global CO2 emissions (predicted to increase to more than 10 per cent by 2050). That is more than the CO2 produced by shipping and aviation combined. It also causes over 20 per cent of global water pollution.

Clothing has a major impact on water at every stage of its life cycle. Many natural fibres, like cotton and flax, need a lot of water to grow. For example, it takes about 2 700 litres of water to grow enough cotton to make just one T-shirt. Growing plants for fibre also pollutes water with pesticides and fertilizers.

Cotton requires the most water out of any other crop and needs a staggering 7,000-29,000 liters of water to produce just one kilogram of raw cotton [6].

Fashion and its supply chain is the third largest polluting industry, after food and construction. It emitted 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, releasing 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, more than the shipping and the aviation industry combined.

What is the largest source of water usage in the United States? ›

Production of electrical power results in one of the largest uses of water in the United States and worldwide.

Agriculture. 70% of the world's freshwater is used for agriculture.

Microfibers pollution of the fashion industry

Every time we wash a synthetic garment (polyester,nylon, etc), about 700.000 individual microfibers are released into the water, making their way into our oceans. Scientists have discovered that small aquatic organisms ingest those microfibers.

The textile sector is a growing contributor to the climate crisis, with about 1% of crude oil production used to produce synthetic fibres. The sector is also an important source of plastic leakage into the environment.

Plastic fibres are polluting the oceans, the wastewater, toxic dyes, and the exploitation of underpaid workers. Fast fashion is big business, and while the environmental costs are rising, experts say there is another way: a circular economy for textiles.