Study And Construction Of Water Footprint Label System For Textile And Apparel Products

Water resource is the foundation of mankind’s survival and all economic activities,but as the diversity and regional maldistribution of water resource,water that can be used by human is limited.Besides,with the growth of population,development of industry and agriculture and change of consumption patterns,water crisis(both quantity and quality)is becoming more and more serious.While as the production processes highly dependent on water resources,textile and apparel industry is one key supervision target of national water policy and regulation.Water footprint as a new water management tool can be used to quantify the influence degree of production,which has become a study focus in many areas.Combining with water footprint and environmental labels to solve the problem of water resource is a new approach studied by governments,industries and other researchers.Based on this,this paper makes full use of the superiority of water footprint theory,combines with the distribution of water resource and the production characteristics of textile and apparel products,and proposes the idea of constructing water footprint label system for textile and apparel products.As the diversity and complexity of textile and apparel products,application of water footprint in this industry is still in the exploratory stage,thus the construction of water footprint label system still face series difficulties,mainly shows in the index of water footprint label(water footprint calculation boundary,different of water resource and product classification rules)and the implementation of water footprint label(collection and calculation of data,promotion of water footprint label).Solutions to above problems are proposed by citing articles and standards combining with enterprise research and expert interviews.Firstly,this paper specifies the time and space boundary of water footprint calculation and according to the characteristic of water and the composition of water footprint,selects two indicators,which are regional water load and COD emission intensity per unit water respectively to quantify the quantity and quality situation of regional water resource.Then,combining with the existing classification standards and the production characteristics of textile and apparel products,defines the product classification system,in which products are distinguished mainly by the degree of product processing,main ingredients and the way of dyeing and finishing.Next,about the data collection problem in water footprint calculation,framework of water footprint database is established by Access database software.Data can be saved,calculated,selected and analyzed by using this database.Meanwhile,by processing data collected in field survey,the realizability of functions in database is verified.Finally,about the promotion problem of water footprint label,combining with the result of expert interviews,correspondent measures from the view of government,industry,certification and testing organizations,research institutions and enterprises are put forward.Combining with the characteristic of water resource,water footprint and textile and apparel product,this study established a water footprint label system for textile and apparel products.This system can be helpful to the government,industry,enterprise and customers to improve the understanding and management level of water resource.From the government level,establishment of international standards and certification system is beneficial to enhance China’s image as a responsible country in international community.From industry level,water footprint label will make the industry body know the water management level and existing problems in time,based on which,corresponding guidance and regulation plan can be developed and sustainable development of the whole industry can be achieved.From enterprise level,implementation of water footprint label helps to improve the consciousness of water saving and emissions reduction,to optimize product structure and improve water management level of the enterprise.Besides,the certification of water footprint label can also help enterprise to enhance competitiveness and influence in international market and reduce risk of trade barrier.From customer level,the promotion of water label is helpful to make customer understand the influence of production on water resource and guide them to purchase and use products which have less damage to the water environment.