Sustainability

The Insatiable Thirst of Fashion

Kicking off it's latest campaign in the UK, Second Hand September, Oxfam has drawn attention to the enormous volume of water required to produce a tiny amount of clothing. From growing the cotton, to dyeing the fabric, an estimated 20,000 liters of water is used in the production of just one t-shirt and one pair of jeans. The campaign asks people to not purchase new clothes for the 30 days of September in a bid to reduce the impact of the clothing industry on our environment.

Description

This chart shows the estimated water required in the production of clothing items.

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Water footprint of select cotton textile products (in liters)
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Key figures on water consumption of the textile and fashion industry worldwide in 2025
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Change in H&M's production water efficiency worldwide in 2017, 2020, and 2022 target*
Amount of water required to produce one kilogram of a selection of foods worldwide in 2018 (in liters)
Volume of freshwater use in textile dyeing and finishing by Nike, Inc. from FY 2016 to FY 2023 (in liters per kilogram)
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Lifecycle freshwater withdrawals of the apparel industry worldwide in 2016, by stage (in billion cubic meters)

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