Water footprint assessment of RMG sector of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, primarily driven by its textile industries. Currently, the country stands as the second largest exporter of readymade garments (RMG) in the world, with a global market share of about five percent. Textile sector is water intensive. High amount of water is consumed and polluted in the production of raw material in the field and processing the raw material to the final product in the textile industry. Therefore, water footprint assessment is important for raw material production, textile processes (washing, dyeing, printing, and finishing) and products (woven, knit, and denim). In this study, green, blue and grey water footprint of cotton cultivation, transportation and textile industry were calculated by analyzing the amount of imported cotton, cotton cultivation condition, production and processing capacity of cotton yarn and cotton fabrics, wastewater volume, number of workers and pollution load database for the last five years. Water footprint for cotton cultivation was calculated by analyzing 11 major countries from where Bangladesh imports raw cotton, cotton yarn and cotton fabric. From the calculation and analysis, water footprint in every stage from cotton cultivation to final product in RMG was categorized. From the analysis, it was found that green, blue and grey water footprint for per kg RMG product were 6394, 6554, and 5091 litre respectively for knit product and 4951, 4639 and 5036 litre respectively for woven product. Total water footprint of RMG cotton product was found 27564 million m3 in 2016 in which internal water footprint was 2755 million m3. Implementation of zero liquid discharge (ZLD) will reduce grey water footprint around 88% and blue water footprint will be reduced around 72%. From this analysis, extent of water (surface and groundwater) pollution and groundwater depletion caused by textile industries can be estimated for the last five years (2012-2016). This study will help policy makers, apparel brands and industry management to take necessary steps to reduce water use and pollution in textile operation.