Water and chemical benefits of nearshoring
Producing textiles causes over 20% of the world wide water pollution due to industrial use. As an average pair of jeans uses almost 7,500 liters of water and several chemical dyeing processes to get it from plantation/factory to our closets it is crucial that these water streams are treated properly while used. Just imagine that your standard order of 300 jeans can already use a olympic swimming pool of water!
Chemicals from textiles causing river pollution in Asia
In Asia this water is usually left untreated and goes straight into nearby water systems. By choosing nearshoring, regulations will prevent european factories to dump these wastewater streams in rivers, which can cause eutrophication and contamination. This phenomenon occurs when fertilizers and chemicals are flushed without treatment into aquatic systems like rivers and lakes, causing algae to grow rapidly and provoking the suffocation of the ecosystems inside and around the water. in China for example these rules have not been strict enough and almost 40% of its rivers have been severely polluted and 80% suffer from eutrophication. Furthermore, in major Chinese cities 85% of water is undrinkable and almost 56% is unfit for any use.
Regulations are the way forward
The lack of regulation in other parts of the world can be illustrated by the image above where textile treatment happens right above a local river in South-east Asia. It is therefore crucial to have good regulatory implementation and monitoring. European regulations on the other side provides more certainty and grip on these issue, which shows again that nearshoring is the safer and responsible choice when producing textiles.
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Manufy aims to connect European buyers, manufacturers and freelancers in an efficient, transparent and – most importantly – sustainable way. By doing this we hope to strengthen the European economy, create more support for local sourcing, provide in quality over quantity and help businesses of all sizes grow. Join Manufy today and be part of creating a sustainable future!
