BSR Insight | Report Calls on Global Apparel Companies to Address Water Pollution in China
Five environmental organizations—including China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, founded by Ma Jun, who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on Monday—sent letters to the CEOs of 48 apparel companies, calling on them to address wastewater pollution and the inefficient use of water in their Chinese supply chains. According to the groups’ “Cleaning Up the Fashion Industry” report (available in Chinese, with an English press release, and an English version of the report forthcoming), the Chinese textile industry, which accounts for half of the global total, lags “way behind” other industries in the reuse of water and produces close to 2.5 billion tons of wastewater and other pollutants every year. Fifteen companies responded to the letter, and seven of them had already initiated remedial measures. The report culled data from more than 6,000 textile company records collected since 2006. BSR’s Sustainable Water Group, which focuses on responsible water use in the supply chain, recommends that companies use public data and share best practices with industry peers to conserve and reuse wastewater. _Read the summary from Ma Jun’s session at the BSR Conference 2011._
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Julia Robinson, Communications Associate
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