Taihu Basin in China is a typical illustration of how water risk is shared among business, government and local communities. Hundreds of international and domestic brands are headquartered or source their products from the region, nearly 10,000 textile printing and dyeing facilities are also based within Jiangsu Province alone. Most of these facilities are small and medium enterprises located within industrial parks or clusters.WWF’s approach is to build the water stewardship capacity for the textile sector and at the same time advocate for better basin governance by engaging multi-stakeholders and showcase the experience and knowledge to higher decision makers. Therefore, for the textile industry, we set the vision as the below:

Engagement with the textile sector has led to the collective action of promoting better basin governance model in Taihu and other prioritized basins in China in order to reduce water risks for business, ecosystems and communities.

WWF’s textile Water Stewardship in China started in 2011. H&M and HSBC joined the partnership in 2014, Tommy Hilfiger in 2016 and the US retail group Target joined in April 2017. The three brands share a joint work plan for the natural year of 2017.

Project Results

MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE

Case 1: Innovative Water Stewardship Trainings increase awareness and build capacity

Since 2017, annual water stewardship supplier trainingshave been held for the suppliers of the partner brands. In total, more than 100 textile mills have participated. 80% of respondents reported improved awareness on business and related environmental impacts in the post-training surveys. To reach a wider group of suppliers, an online Training App, based on the annual physical training program and feedback from suppliers, was developed and launched at the 4th Taihu International Forum. CNTAC and associated experts will help drive continuous improvement of App content and App promotion into the future.

Case 2: Xixiashu Industrial Park: the case study of Weile Dyeing mill
Weile Dyeing, a small-size factory specializing in the production of polyester, knitted, printing and dyeing flannel, implemented a wide range of water stewardship practices as the internal IP pilot site. Tools were applied to establish water balance, improve water use efficiency, and reduce wastewater generation from the production. The total investment in water stewardship projects was about 1.2 million RMB (179,000 USD), and resulted in the following annual reductions and savings:118.9 Million Litres of industrial water saved, 113.7 Million Litres of wastewater reduced, 3,329,000 KWH of electricity saved and oer 3 Million RMB (448,000 USD) n production cost savings.