Evaluating the cost of sustainability in textile sector

30 Oct '12

3 min read

National and provincial caps are coming soon, Tan warned, and manufacturers need to be prepared. Though China has 7 percent of the world’s freshwater reserves, it has 20 percent of the world’s population, which means it has a low ratio of renewable water per capita. Meanwhile, the top production areas in China, such as Jiangsu, Hebei, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing, are in areas where water is particularly scarce.

When the government missed its energy-reduction targets during the most recent five-year plan, it implemented mandatory blackouts to meet its target, Tan noted. If water-usage caps are not met, something such as a three-month mandated closure wouldn’t be out of the question, she warned. Speakers also emphasized the importance of working with government regulators. Ullhas Nimkar, chairman and managing director of Nimkartek Technical Services, gave an example of Chinese regulators establishing a limit of 100 liters of water a kilo for some manufacturing processes, which was unnecessarily high as the processes could be accomplished with as little as 20 liters a kilo.

Participants and speakers bandied about some suggestions to ease environmental impact and increasing control over the supply chain by consolidating the number of mills, using less harmful chemicals and encouraging the design team to be mindful of environmental impact when selecting colors.

Textile Exchange