YtDl2r

Country
Import
value
(€ m)
Import
volume (t)
Physical
risk
Regulatory
risk
Reputational
risk
China 1,791,384 317,829
Italy 971,749 105,784
Turkey 771,609 132,373
Netherlands 521,336 101,259
Poland 517,505 88,071
India 466,037 106,594
Switzerland 414,178 25,893
Belgium 407,814 100,285
Czech Rep. 398,921 81,765
Austria 341,019 38,191
Table 3. Top ten countries from which Germany imports textiles and their water risk
(based on import value) High Medium Low
*See 3.1 Water Risk Analysis and Methodology for further details.
Cotton production is
the most water-intense
segment of the value
chain for the textiles and
apparel sector and is also
the segment most vulnerable
to climate-induced
physical water risks.
Sector water risk and water intensity
Water-related risks are significant in textiles and apparel production (see
Table 4). There are strong links to agriculture and the petrochemical industry,
both of which are big water users and polluters. The textile industry is second
only to agriculture as the world’s biggest water polluter 24 . Each year, mills
discharge millions of litres of wastewater containing toxic chemicals, such as
formaldehyde, chlorine, and heavy metals, like lead and mercury. Many of
these chemicals cannot be filtered or removed and cause both environmental
damage and human disease 25 . Cotton production is the most water-intense
segment of the value chain for the textiles and apparel sector and is also the
segment most vulnerable to climate-induced physical water risks.
The impacts of water risk on a textile company’s performance can be illustrated
through H&M’s lower profits after having to absorb skyrocketed cotton prices
due to flooding in major cotton growing areas in Pakistan, Australia, and China
that limited supply in 2011 26, 27 .
28, 29
Cotton water facts
Water consumption in cotton production differs between countries: China (6,000 litres/
kg), India (22,500 litres/kg), Pakistan (9,600 litres/kg), and Uzbekistan (9,200 litres/kg).
Pesticides and herbicides used to grow conventional cotton account for 10% of all
agricultural chemicals and 25% of all pesticides used worldwide each year.
The World Bank estimates that textile dyeing and treatment causes 20% of global
industrial water pollution.
20