Not Water Efficiency or Shortage, But Floods and Depleting Water Quality Will Pose Biggest Risks to Apparel Hubs by 2050

With focus largely on emissions and net-zero, a critical area facing a bigger risk perhaps relates to water — flood risks and fast-depleting water quality, according to a WWF study. And, the warning is grimmer for clusters in India and Pakistan.

Long Story, Cut Short
  • The study harnessed the WWF Water Risk Filter to assess the physical water risks associated with each cluster within the 75,000+ sites under research.
  • It identified physical risks in 2020 as the baseline & also analysed how these risks will evolve by 2050 considering the changes in climate and socio-economics.
  • All of the largest clusters are projected to face increases in physical water risk by 2050, making it critical to prioritise basin resilience planning.
The report explores the apparel and textiles industry’s exposure to water risk using spatial analysis to understand not only the patterns of water risks within clusters of sites, but also how different clusters may be able to learn from each other to respond. It also   highlights opportunities for collaboration between sectors.
The Risk is Real The report explores the apparel and textiles industry’s exposure to water risk using spatial analysis to understand not only the patterns of water risks within clusters of sites, but also how different clusters may be able to learn from each other to respond. It also highlights opportunities for collaboration between sectors. Vinh Nguyen / Unsplash

As fashion companies stay glued with textbook solutions on issues of water efficiency and water scarcity, there's a bigger threat that's looming large: flood risks and fast-depleting water quality.

  • The grim warning comes in the WWF report, Avant Garde: Water risks and opportunities facing the apparel and textile clusters, published together with Open Supply Hub.

The Study: The researchers focused on 82 apparel clusters, which were identified as the basins (catchments) with highest spatial density of apparel and textiles sites.

  • Altogether these clusters encompass over 75,000 sites (which represent 78% of all the sites that were listed in Open Supply Hub at the time of analysis).

Physical Water Risks: The study harnessed the WWF Water Risk Filter to assess the physical water risks associated with each cluster. Thus, they identified physical risks in the year 2020 (as the baseline) and also analysed how these risks will evolve by 2050 considering the changes in climate and socio-economics, according to a pessimistic pathway.

  • The 82 clusters’ average physical risk is projected to change from 3.3 (medium risk) in 2020 to 3.7 (high risk) in 2050, considering the risk scale ranging from 1 (very low risk) to 5 (very high risk), or up to 6.6 in cases that future risk will be extreme.
  • Specifically, 35 clusters (43%) face high or very high physical water risk as of 2020, but this number is projected to rise to 47 (57%) by 2050, with an additional 4 clusters (5%) projected to face extreme risk, namely Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and Delhi in India, and Lahore in Pakistan.
  • Physical water risks are already high for many of the larger clusters.
  • All of the largest clusters are projected to face increases in physical water risk by 2050, making it critical to prioritise basin resilience planning.
  • The clusters most exposed to physical water risk are in India and Pakistan.
An illustration showing how water risks will change through 2050.
Scary Picture An illustration showing how water risks will change through 2050. WWF

Water Scarcity Issues: In 2020, a total of 26 clusters (14,699 sites, comprising 15% of all OS Hub listed facility locations) were already facing above medium water scarcity risk.

  • This number is projected to increase to 38 clusters by 2050 (21,993 sites, 23% of OS Hub listed facility locations).
  • Clusters currently facing very high water scarcity risk include: Ludhiana (India), Alicante (Spain), Madrid (Spain), Ahmedabad (India), Delhi (India) and Lahore (Pakistan). All of these clusters (with the exception of Alicante and Madrid) are projected to face even higher water scarcity by 2050.
  • Additionally, nine other clusters are projected to change from high risk to extreme risk, namely: Chennai (India), Casablanca (Morocco), Bangalore (India), Tanger (Morocco), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (USA), Karachi (Pakistan), Shijiazhuang (China), Jaipur (India) and Beijing (China).

Flood Risks: In 2020, a total of 53 clusters (62,350 sites, comprising 64% of all OS Hub listed facility locations) faced above medium flooding risk.

  • This number is projected to slightly decrease to 51 clusters (62,983 sites) by 2050, albeit with a higher risk for more than half of these sites.
  • A total of 8 clusters faced very high flooding risk in 2020: Guangzhou (China), Nanchang (China), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Lahore (Pakistan), Jakarta (Indonesia), Shantou (China), Xiamen (China).
  • For six out of these eight clusters, flooding risks are projected to increase from very high risk to extreme risk by 2050 (exceptions are Lahore and Xiamen).
  • Additionally, seven other clusters are projected to increase from high risk to extreme risk: Bangkok (Thailand), Ahmedabad (India), Chennai (India), Bangalore (India), Yangon (Myanmar), Lima (Peru), and Surat (India).

Water Quality: In 2020, a total of 56 clusters (49,896 sites, comprising 52% of all OS Hub listed facility locations) were already facing above medium water quality risk.

  • By 2050, this number is projected to increase to 74 clusters (72,047 sites), meaning 74% of all OS Hub listed facility sites will be facing high water quality risk.
  • Out of the 39 very high risk clusters in 2020, all of them (with exception for Padova, Milan and Thessaloniki) are projected to face extreme risk by 2050.
  • Additionally, eight other clusters are projected to increase from high risk directly to extreme risk, namely: Kolkata (India), Bangalore (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Karachi (Pakistan), San Salvador (El Salvador), Nagpur (India), Bangkok (Thailand) and Chennai (India).
 
 
  • Dated posted: 30 November 2022
  • Last modified: 30 November 2022