Why does clothing production use large amounts of water?

The clothing and footwear industry consumes significant amounts of water primarily due to the intensive requirements of textile production and finishing processes.12

Key factors contributing to this high water usage include:

• Agricultural Needs: Natural fibers like cotton require substantial moisture for cultivation, often relying on extensive rainfall or irrigation during the growing season to ensure fiber quality and yield.3
• Dyeing Processes: The dyeing of textiles is typically carried out in an aqueous solution known as a dyebath. This process requires large volumes of water to act as a medium for transferring dye molecules to the fibers, as well as for rinsing to ensure the coloration is permanent and not easily removed by washing.4
• Finishing and Processing: Water is utilized throughout various stages of textile manufacturing, including preparatory treatments. Because these processes often leave fabrics saturated with moisture, additional energy-intensive steps are required to dry the materials, further highlighting the industry's reliance on water-heavy workflows.5

The fast fashion business model exacerbates these issues by prioritizing high-volume production and frequent replacement, which magnifies the industry's overall environmental footprint, including its excessive water consumption.2