Textile industry under growing pressure to reduce water pollution

Chinese textile suppliers to global apparel makers are coming under increasing pressure from both their clients and Beijing to substantially cut down on their wastewater pollution, The Wall Street Journal reported. Hong Kong-based Esquel Group, among the largest global producers of cotton shirts, says it is investing in purification systems to turn wastewater generated at its factories into drinkable water. But a high price tag of such tech is out of reach for many smaller and midsize dye houses, which analysts say dump billions of gallons of toxic discharge into China’s waterways every year. (For more on China’s water pollution problems, see CER’s in-depth report.)