German fashion retailers and brands including Aldi Nord, Aldi Süd, Brands Fashion, KiK and Takko Fashion have joined a two-year initiative to improve wastewater management in the textile supply chain.
A project of the federal government’s Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, the scheme will run from 1 July 2020 to 20 June 2022, with Taiwan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Pakistan and Turkey the focus countries.
The overall aim is to establish sustainable wastewater management practices that will, in the long term, reduce negative environmental impacts in the production countries, lower the amount of hazardous chemicals in wastewater, and prevent the use of substances of concern in textile production.
The 13 alliance members also include F3 Fashion Cube (Orsay plus Partner), as well as organisations such as Bluesign, the Federal Association of the German Sporting Goods Industry (BSI), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Oeko-Tex, the Federal Environment Agency, and the ZDHC Foundation.
The initiative is focusing on the so-called wet processes of textile production – bleaching, dyeing and printing – because the chemicals used are often discharged untreated in wastewater. The resulting environmental damage can be much greater than exhaust emissions or solid waste from clothing manufacturing.
Its three-step approach will start with raising awareness of the issue in factories and the need for improved wastewater management; it will harmonise the testing of wastewater by means of wastewater standards and improving data quality. Finally, it hopes to achieve cooperation and data exchange across the supply chain and with scientific institutions.
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By GlobalData“There is still a need for action when using chemicals in the textile industry. It is therefore good and important that the members of the textile alliance are working for better wastewater management and therefore for the protection of the environment, clean water and therefore also for clean drinking water,” explains the head of the Partnership secretariat Jürgen Janssen.
“By joining together, progress will be made that a company cannot achieve alone. It’s a strong sign of alliance engagement, that the 13 alliance members start the initiative despite the difficult corona situation.”
“We are committed to largely eliminating toxic or dangerous chemicals from textile production,” adds Frank Michel, director of the ZDHC Foundation. “Under no circumstances should wastewater from factories get into the environment. With the alliance initiative, we have the opportunity to manage wastewater in the factories with wet processes.”
Yvonne Swoboda, corporate responsibility manager at Orsay, explains: “It is important that we can rely on the primary data that we receive from our partners in the supply chain. This also includes data from the deeper supply chain. The compliance with wastewater standards plays a crucial role here for residents, workers and protects the environment in producing countries.”
Set up in 2014 by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles is a multi-stakeholder initiative with about 130 members working to improve conditions in global textile production – from raw materials production to end-of-life disposal. It already has other initiatives are already underway to improve working conditions in textile production in Tamil Nadu in southern India, to ensure a living wage and complaints mechanisms.
