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Fashion is a thirsty business

A staggering amount of water is consumed to make our clothes.
1 cotton t-shirt equals 900 days of drinking water

Living on a planet that’s covered in water, may create the impression that we have an endless supply.

The harsh reality however is that less 1% of this is clean and accessible water.

Water has to be treated as a scarce resource. UN Water

The fashion industry used a staggering 79 million cubic meters of water in 2017, enough to fill 32 millions Olympic size swimming pools, according to Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Most of this water usage can be attributed to the production of raw materials, in particular the cultivation of cotton crops.

Dyeing of fabrics is also water intensive and can use up to 150 litres per kilogram, with much of the dyed waste water finding its way back into waterways.

The creation of just one cotton t-shirt uses 2,700 litres of water, which equates to 900 days of drinking water for one person.

This super thirsty crop can be found in a third of all garments produced today.

The GFA and (BCG) estimate that the fashion industry's water consumption will increase by 50 percent by 2030.

Two-thirds of the global population already experience water scarcity, with nearly half of those affected living in China and India, the two largest cotton producers.

In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, once the 4th largest lake in the world, has been reduced to a tenth of its original size due to the impact of cotton farming.

As water scarcity becomes more prevalent in cotton producing countries, they could face a choice between cotton production or clean drinking water.

Take Action

We can make better fabric choices.

  • Opt for organic cotton or Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton. Other natural fibres like hemp, Tencel and bamboo are far less demanding on our limited water resources.
  • Also look out for garments that use dyeing technology that aim to reduce water consumption.

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