Our world uses trillions upon trillions of gallons of water every day to produce the items and resources we need to survive. One of the lesser known culprits of excessive water usage is in the fashion and textile industry. As a whole, the fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater and 10% of global carbon emissions. This amount equates to more than all of the waste produced from international airplane flights and maritime shipping. Specifically, textile dying requires around 2,000 gallons of water just to manufacture one pair of denim jeans (“Putting the Brakes on Fast Fashion,” n.d.).
A lot of this water is used at the foundational level to produce the cotton that makes the clothing items, with one pound of cotton requiring 1320 gallons of water to grow (“Reuse/ Recycle Clothes & Linens,” n.d.). Standard cotton’s water needs are met through natural precipitation, soil moisture, and man-made irrigation systems (“Textile Exchange,” 2016).
Researchers have grown in understanding the consequences of the excessive water usage in the fashion industry, and are constantly exploring new, more sustainable technologies that lower the amount of water necessary to produce clothing. The most recent and popular strategy to combat this is switching to producing and growing organic cotton. Organic cotton is grown using eco-friendly methods and materials and does not require the use of toxic chemicals and pesticides, unlike its regular cotton counterpart. Compared to the water consumption of conventional cotton (2,120 liters/ kg of lint), organic cotton only requires 182 liters / kg lint (“Textile Exchange”, 2016).
On a more personal level, the organic production of cotton for one, singular, regular sized t-shirt saves 1982 gallons of water (Luppino, n.d.).
Source: Organic cotton environmental benefits – LCA data and savings. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2021, from http://aboutorganiccotton.org/environmental-benefits/
Organic cotton requires less water because it is mostly sustained by rain-water, compared to the irrigation systems necessary to water conventional cotton. Due to this, organic cotton reduces water consumption by 91% (“Organic Cotton Environmental Benefits,” n.d.). Organic cotton also does not damage the soil, has less impact on the air, and uses 62% less energy than the production of standard cotton (“From Pollution to Solution,” 2018). Although the process of growing organic cotton is financially more expensive, it is a more sustainable alternative that many manufacturers are beginning to understand, including clothing brands like H&M and Nike (Luppino, n.d.). Making the switch to growing organic cotton as opposed to conventional cotton is a suitable strategy that will lead to a more sustainable and less wasteful fashion industry.
Sources:
Putting the brakes on fast fashion. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion
Reuse/Recycle clothes & Linens. (2020, April 21). Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://www.watercalculator.org/posts/reuse-recycle-clothes-linens/
Textile exchange. (2016). Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://textileexchange.org/
From pollution to solution: Breaking down waste in the fashion industry – 3d insider: Optitex blog. (2018, July 03). Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://3dinsider.optitex.com/pollution-solution-breaking-waste-fashion-industry/
Luppino, R. (n.d.). Quick guide to organic cotton. Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://textileexchange.org/quick-guide-to-organic-cotton/
Organic cotton environmental benefits – LCA data and savings. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2021, from http://aboutorganiccotton.org/environmental-benefits/