Nike suppliers embrace water reduction strategy

OREGON – US sportswear giant Nike has outlined some of its work with key Chinese suppliers to slash water use in production, and says it is on target to cut freshwater withdrawn per unit of production (L/kg) by key materials suppliers by 20 per cent by 2020, measured against a FY16 baseline. The business says that at the end of FY18, its key material suppliers worldwide had saved around 8.7 billion litres of freshwater, 4.2 billion of which was saved by suppliers in China by collaborating with Nike’s Minimum Water programme. 

Examples of its work are outlined by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Chinese NGO which has developed a map linking apparel brands to their Chinese factories.