Water: fast fashion’s hidden cost
When we talk about fast fashion’s environmental impact, we often picture heaps of clothing lying unused in a landfill, mounds of fabric cluttering an ocean, or textile scraps endangering animals, plants, and people. These scenes, albeit important and attention-worthy problems, are not the only environmental byproduct of fast fashion production. One of the hidden costs of mass clothing manufacturing is an overconsumption of water. As regions around the world suffer through droughts and poor water access, the fashion industry consumes 93 billion cubic meters of this precious natural resource, according to the environmental non-profit Fair Planet. Fast fashion production is also a leading water polluter. As clothing consumers, we need to consider the importance of ethical clothing production and conscious clothing consumption.
Cotton is the most highly demanded natural material in fashion production. In addition to its widespread demand, cotton farming is a resource-exhaustive process. Cultivating cotton in such high quantities requires elaborate irrigation systems. According George Washington University Law Environmental and Energy Law Blog, it takes 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt. Multiply 700 gallons by the estimated 2 billion shirts bought and sold each year, and we get an overwhelming amount of water used up by a single product type being made in a single year. The World Resources Institute, a non-profit that focused on global developmental challenges, indicates that there are 25 countries in the world that are “exposed to extremely high water stress annually,” to the point where “even a short-term drought puts these places in danger of running out of water and sometimes prompts governments to shut off the taps.” The World Resources Institute estimates that there will be another 1 billion people who face high water stress in 2050. Many of these countries are the very locations where big fashion corporations out source their labor. For example, Fair Planet indicates that Bangladesh uses 1,500 billion liters of water in clothing factories and mills each year. This is the same country where 70 million people do not have access to clean water, according to Water.org.
In addition to the sheer volume of water being consumed, there is a high level of water contamination caused by the fashion industry. Cotton production uses pesticides and chemicals that eventually end up in local water sources. From here, chemical-filled run-off contaminates a community’s water sources. Synthetic fabric production is one of the biggest offenders because its production contaminates wastewater is benzene, lead, and arsenic.
As you look for new clothing to fill your closet, keep this information in mind. Find items made through sustainable cotton farming or with natural fibers. These clothing materials use less water when being produced, and subsequently create less contamination. The most sustainable solution, however, is to limit over consumption. Choose fashion staples that will last longer than a moment of instant gratification and can serve multiple occasions. Together, we can make our future greener, one stitch at a time.
Sources:
Fair Planet, https://www.fairplanet.org/story/how-the-fashion-industry-pollutes-our-water/
George Washington Law, https://blogs.gwu.edu/law-gwpointsource/2023/10/02/fast-fashion-polluting-our-water-millions-of-clothing-items-at-a-time/
Ted-Ed, The life cycle of a t-shirt - Angel Changwww.youtube.com › watch
World Resources Institute, https://www.wri.org/insights/highest-water-stressed-countries#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20World%20Resources%20Institute%20(WRI)%2C,East%20and%20North%20Africa%20*%20South%20Asia
Water.org, https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/bangladesh/