Water to make clothes: reveal the quantities for each fabric

Each dress the one we wear has a production costs. Among the factors that determined the price, we must take into account water. It takes 2,700 liters to make a t-shirt. We know the amounts of water that are useful for drinking and for domestic use or for eating. But not what it takes to produce the clothes we wear every day.

l’water footprint it is the essential tool to tackle drought in particular and measure the water needed to produce the clothes we wear. The recent study by Johan Rockström, the one who came up with “the nine planetary limits”. In practice, determining thresholds within which man can continue his economic activity on precious natural resources without damaging the earth.

One of these valuable resources is thewater. It is used in truly enormous quantities to make simple garments. Most likely, the massive use of water is due to the tissue seeds being treated with excessive amounts of fertilizers and pesticides. Using it dries out the soil, which requires more water.

However, there are some fiber to make clothes that require less water footprint. For example, organic cotton made without the use of herbicides or other chemicals. It is regenerated by a mechanical process that removes the shreds by reweaving them without the need for more water. Jeans need from 7 to 10 thousand liters. The fabric that needs the most water is leather with 17,000 liters per kg of leather produced.