[1] 2,5%:
No source needed, you might be surprised, but that is a generally accepted ratio. The rest of our resources is ‘stored’ in oceans with about 97.5%. Still sceptic? Maybe a video will help – VIDEO
[2] 81% UNTIL 2030 – 102 BILLION TONS: Read more about the Pulse of the Fashion Industry.
[3] WASTE WATER POLLUTION: 300–500 million tons of chemicals dumped each year into waters. Further reading:
Greenpeace Dirty Laundry report
Did you know? The Agricultural sector is already the largest user of water resources, accounting for roughly 70% of all freshwater withdrawals globally and over 90 % in most of the world’s least-developed countries.
Further reading:
– Facts and Figures from the UN World Water Development Report 2020 or the whole UN World Water Development Report 2020
[4] 40% AND 840 MILLION PEOPLE:
What are safely managed water services?
“Drinking water from an improved water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination”. There are 2.1 billion people who do not have safely managed managed water services.And what is basic water service? “Drinking water from an improved source, provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round trip, including queuing” There are 844 million people who do not have even a basic drinking water service.
Further reading:
– WHO, UNICEF. Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines
– UN Sustainable Development Goals and Clean water and sanitation: Why it matters
[5] BETWEEN 7.000 AND 29.000 LITRES:
Not that specific you may think? Even though we do know that cotton can be considered as an ever-thirsty plant, the amount of water needed to create 1kg of cotton is also dependent on the region (rainy or not), the applied agricultural standards (high or low) and the different steps used for production. And more litres can be added if you also think of more than just the ‘production phase’, as a textiles life includes among others also the ‘use phase’, when it is worn and washed and worn and washed and …
Further reading:
– The role and business case for existing and emerging fibres in sustainable clothing: Final Report to DEFRA, 2010
– The water footprint of cotton consumption (2005)
COTTONS SHARE
Even though the share of man-made fibres in the textile world has increased, cotton remains one of the most important fibres used for fancy and not so fancy clothes: Share of Cotton in World Apparel Fibre Consumption: 40% (2008) / Composition of Apparel Fibre Consumption in developed countries: 43.2% Cotton.
Further reading:
FAO 2011 and FAO 2009
Handbook of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Textiles and Clothing, S.S. Muthu, 2015