Water covers nearly 70.9% of the planet and is essential for most plant and animal life. It is also an essential component of textile production…
The non-profit organisation Textile Exchange, recently published a document (FastFacts) that bring together some of the most useful information on water as it relates to the textile industry. Water is also a crucial point of discussion in the economy and politics.
In this FastFacts, you can have an overview of the current working groups addressing water quality and conservation. These groups can be a great place to start to learn more about responsible water use.
To not forget:
- In order to get 1 kg of final cotton textile, one requires 11,000 litres of water (as a global average). Thus, when we have a shirt with a weight of 250 gram, this shirt costs 2700 litres (source: waterfootprint.org)
- As much as 90 per cent of all wastewater in developing countries is discharged untreated directly into rivers, lakes or the oceans. (source: UN Water)
About Textile Exchange:
Textile Exchange (formerly known as Organic Exchange) is a non-profit, membership based organization incorporated in 2003. It operates internationally and is committed to the responsible expansion of textile sustainability across the global textile value chain, with a special focus on organic cotton. Textile Exchange is headquartered in the USA with staff and contractors located in eight countries.