Two decades ago, Levi Strauss & Co. shook up the apparel industry with water quality guidelines currently used widely across the apparel supply chain. Now, as scarcity concerns become more acute around the world, it is piloting ways to reduce fresh water used in its jeans-finishing operation by encouraging contract facilities to recycle wastewater.
It’s the first time an apparel company has attempted to set standards within its supply chain for water reuse. Already, more than 100,000 pairs of jeans finished using 100 percent recycled water have been produced by the company’s test partner in China, reducing the operation’s fresh water draw by nearly 12 million liters (about 3 million gallons).
That’s on top of the 770 million liters (203 million gallons) Levi Strauss has saved over the past four years through another initiative, its Water<Less jeans brand.
“This water recycling can happen over and over, significantly reducing the overall amount of water used to make our products,” the company’s sustainability team reports in a blog detailing the water recycling program. “As long as the water meets our standards to deliver the quality you expect from our brands, it can be recycled multiple times.”
That’s a notable achievement, given how much water the apparel industry uses — or wastes, depending on your perspective. For example, it takes 26 to 40 gallons of water to process about two pounds of textiles, which is one reason Nike is testing waterless dyeing techniques. The finishing process, like the ones used extensively to make your jeans that just-right shade of blue, also uses plenty of fresh water.
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Source: GreenBiz
By Heather Clancy