Nike, Other Global Companies Pressure Chinese Shops To Protect Water

Nike and other global companies who do business in China are putting pressure on their suppliers to conserve and protect water resources, according to the Wall Street Journal.

One supplier appears to be making an effort: Hong Kong-based Esquel Group, which supplies cotton clothing to Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. Three years ago, the global manufacturer “spent more than $7 million on a system that converts some of the 30,000 tons of wastewater generated daily at its Gaoming facility in southern China into drinkable water that is put back into the dyeing process,” the report said.

Investing in this technology helps make Esquel more attractive to clothing companies concerned with reducing their environmental impact, the report said. “The technology is similar to what’s being used in places like Singapore and Orange County, Calif., to turn household wastewater into drinking water. It has been adopted by some of China’s largest textile makers,” the report said.

Nike has faced criticism over its impact on the water supply, and the company now pressures suppliers to abide by sustainable practices. Greenpeace slammed the sneaker giant for its effect on the water supply, according to Green Biz:

A couple of years ago, after criticism from Greenpeace, Nike announced it would eliminate hazardous chemicals from its global supply chain by 2020. Although Nike has been known as a sustainability leader for years, Greenpeace's "Dirty Laundry" report linked Nike and 13 other major clothing brands' suppliers to the release of hazardous and hormone-disrupting chemicals into Chinese rivers. Industrial wastewater with a wide range of toxic chemicals was being dumped into rivers in two of China's most important textile manufacturing zones. Since then, Nike has partnered on a "bluefinder" tool, which directs suppliers to pre-screened, sustainable textile preparations (dye systems, detergents and other process chemicals used in the manufacturing process).

At the time, Nike responded to the critique with a statement: “Our commitment is to work with Greenpeace to share the work we have embarked upon within our own supply chain, and to offer to partner with Greenpeace to help catalyze and accelerate these new forms of collaboration that will shift industries.”

Smaller companies often have difficulty investing in advanced water treatment technology, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Even the cheapest water-treatment systems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, says Hong Chua, dean of science and technology at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong. Mr. Chua has advised Chinese factories on installing water-treatment systems that cost between 2 million yuan and 50 million yuan (roughly $325,000 to $8 million),” the report said.