Gap Inc. to Reduce Water Usage by 10 Billion Liters

Gap Inc. has just announced that it plans on saving 10 billion liters of water by 2020 through making its "mills, factories, and laundries" more efficient, Fashionista reports. The company wants to "tackle global water scarcity" and provide consumers with products they feel good about, says executive vice president of global sourcing Christophe Roussel. The brand adds that the amount it intends to conserve would provide 5 billion people with daily drinking water.

Gap hopes to reduce water waste in denim laundries via a program called Washwell that could cut consumption by 20 percent. It also hopes to reduce waste in cotton production with the help of the Better Cotton Initiative, and to provide clean water to the people who manufacture the company's clothing. This third goal has a gendered aspect too, as approximately 80 percent of the people who make Gap's clothes are women. The company has a "Women + Water" initiative that tries to alleviate the stresses women face when tasked with providing their families with clean water for cooking and cleaning.

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The company's website says that they think of "water as a human right" — one that is predicted to become less and less readily available in the coming years as climate change leads to more droughts, storms, and floods.

They also say on the site that they have committed to a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2020.

Read more about their plan to reduce water usage and to make more ethical clothing here.

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