A Global Movement to End the Global Water and Sanitation Crisis
Water is among the most important elements in life on Earth. It gives life to ecosystems, helps in the sustenance of human life, and fuels industries. Yet, despite its importance, more than a fraction of the world faces growing water and sanitation crises. The United Nations estimates that 2.2 billion people currently lack access to safe drinking water, while 4.2 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation facilities. It has grown into a crisis that engulfs grave health, social, and economic issues, above all on the poorest communities of the world.
The fashion and textile industry is one of the most intensive in using and polluting water. The global trend for sustainable fashion has with it an increased awareness by brands and consumers alike of the environmental impacts their choices in clothes are causing. Standing at the crossroads of such a movement, with the global water crisis, opens up an avenue for change in how we produce, consume, and think about clothes.
In this blog, we consider the global water and sanitation crisis, how the apparel industry is exacerbating the situation, and how businesses like ours can, when committed to sustainable clothing, help alleviate the burden on this vital resource.
Overview of the Global Crisis
The global water crisis cuts across each and every region of the globe, rooted in a variety of reasons. Exigencies have continued to increase due to population growth, climate change, pollution, and mismanagement of water resources. In many areas, access to clean water is a matter of life and death, where people are forced to use unsafe sources for drinking, cooking, and hygiene. Lack of sanitation further worsens these problems, leading to diseases and death, especially among children.
1. Water Scarcity
The lack of enough water to fulfill all the personal and household needs of a particular community can be termed as scarcity of water. That may be on account of natural reasons, like droughts, or artificially created by excessive extraction of water for agriculture or industry. In the year 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population are estimated to face water shortages.
2. Complementing Role of Climate Change
Climate change is enhancing the water crisis in most regions of the world. Luckily, increased global temperatures have heightened the frequency and gravity of droughts, change in patterns of precipitation, and melting of glaciers that supply water to billions. The changes are devastating for communities relying on agriculture since agriculture largely depends on sure supplies of water.
3. Water Mismanagement and Pollution
In most instances, lack of water supply is more an issue of mismanagement rather than shortage. In countries where the threat of water is grimmer, the systems contributing to this are normally those characterized by inefficiency-induced losses through leaks, evaporation, and pollution. On the other side, industrial activities, especially in developing countries, result in the pollution of water sources through the use of chemicals, heavy metals, and untreated wastewater, making such water unviable for human consumption or use in agriculture.
The Water Crisis and the Textile Industry
While the water crisis may be thought of as largely unrelated to the fashion industry, the reality is that the two are actually intertwined. The textile and apparel industry is one of the largest water-wasting industries worldwide. From the cultivation of cotton to the dyeing of fabrics, nearly every step of the process involved in making clothing requires an enormous amount of water. Indeed, it is estimated that the fashion industry consumes about 93 billion cubic meters of water per year, which would serve the needs of some five million people.
1. Facts and Figures of Water Consumption in Cotton Farming
Cotton is one of the most predominantly used materials in apparel. Its relation to a bumper water usage normally remains extremely high: a single cotton t-shirt requires around 2,700 liters of water in its preparation cycle. Much of this water is used for irrigation, and in regions where water is already scarce, cotton farming can further increase local water shortages. Perhaps the most dramatic example could be the case of the Aral Sea in Central Asia, which these days is almost an empty pool due to water withdrawal for cotton farming; what was once a thriving ecosystem has now turned into a desert.
2. Water Pollution from Textile Dyeing and Processing
The textile industry is by far one of the largest water users, yet also one of the largest water polluters. Many processes of dyeing and finishing textiles involve the use of toxic chemicals discharged into nearby rivers and streams, which contaminate water supplies for local communities. As a result, in a country like Bangladesh, where the whole economy is practically based on the garment industry, for instance, the rivers have turned black due to industrial waste and are undrinkable, unsafe to fish in, and unhealthy to bathe in.
3. Synthetic Fibers and Microplastics
Besides water consumption and pollution, the fashion industry contributes to water contamination through synthetic fibers such as polyester. Every time synthetic clothes are washed, they emit microplastic particles into the waterways and find their way into the oceans. Such amounts of microplastic do contribute to the ingested material for every form of marine life; since such material has been found in chains of food, there is growing concern over what the long-term implications may actually be for impacts upon the environment and human health alike.
Sustainable Fashion as Part of the Solution
With the rise in consciousness over the footprint of the clothing industry, a number of brands have a growing feeling of wanting to go back to sustainable methods in order to reduce their contribution to degrading water supplies on the planet. Referred to as sustainable fashion, it is clothes produced without causing environmental damage, focusing on water reduction, toxic chemical elimination, and advancement of labor that is ethics-based. Here’s how the fashion industry works in responding to the water crisis:
1. Organic and Sustainable Materials
One of the most useful ways of saving water consumption within the fashion industry is through organic and sustainable materials. One good case in point is organic cotton, which originates from cotton production made without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, reducing the pollution of our waterways. It also requires less water than conventional cotton, because farming practices of organic farming concern soil health, improving its water retention abilities.
Other sustainable materials, such as hemp and linen, are innately water-efficient and able to thrive in most climate conditions with limited irrigation. Brands specializing in eco-friendly clothing—an increasing amount, including our own—are incorporating these materials into their product lines as one popular initiative to minimize their water footprint.
2. Innovations in Water-Efficient Technologies
Just like in every other field, textile production does its equal part in shrinking water use. For example, the closed-loop dyeing systems recycle water and chemicals to decrease wastewater produced by dyeing. Similarly, waterless dyeing technologies are gaining momentum; they allow for fabrics to be dyed without the use of water, hence excluding one of the most water-intensive steps from the process of clothing manufacture.
3. Circular Fashion to Reduce Waste
The big contributors to water waste in the fashion industry have come from overproduction and fast fashion. Indeed, millions of garments are never sold each year and end up in landfills, wasting the water used for their production. Hence, circular fashion would keep the cycle going with less waste by designing products for reuse, repair, or recycling in order to extend the life cycle of the products and reduce demand for new raw materials.
4. Taking Care of Consumer Awareness
While brands make an essential contribution to saving water, consumers also have their role to play. The consumer can drive demand by choosing to wear sustainable clothes and encouragement towards textile brands also to move in this direction. Additionally, proper care for the garments, like less frequent and lower-temperature washing, reduces water and energy use in caring for garments.
International Efforts to Address the Water Crisis
Beyond what is being done through the fashion industry itself, several global initiatives seek to address the water crisis on a larger scale. Organizations like Water.org, Charity: Water, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6—that focuses on clean water and sanitation for all—are among leading initiatives that have been advancing access to safe water and improving the way the world manages its water. Such initiatives, manifold, would transform the fashion industry into a real force for change: the adoption of sustainable business practices while seeking to fight the global water crisis.
Conclusion: A Call for Action
The global water and sanitation crisis can be considered one of the leading global issues of these times, and it is an issue in which the fashion industry can—and should—play a significant role. It can range from reducing water usage and pollution during the production process to supporting sustainable materials and ethics in labor. As a sustainable fashion enterprise, we believe in doing our part by using eco-friendly materials, reducing waste, and spreading awareness of the importance of water conservation. In collaboration, we believe that we can achieve a future where clean water is universally accessible and the clothes we wear no longer cost the earth.