Almost a third of China’s rivers are classified as too polluted for any direct human contact. That is the terrible price paid for having become the manufacturing center of the world with no appropriate environmental regulations. China alone is responsible for 50% of the global production of textile, an especially dirty and resource-intensive affair. Fortunately, progress is being made thanks, in no small part, to a program launched six years ago by the Natural Resources Defense Council to encourage China’s textile mills to clean up their act. Clean by Design emphasizes financial rewards from the efficient use of resources, and has enrolled large brands to put pressure on their suppliers. In 2014, 33 mills completed the program, cutting their water use by 9%, electricity use by 4% and coal use by 6.5%, according to a new report by NRDC. Estimated savings include 3 million tons of water, 36 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 400 tons of chemicals, and 61,000 tons of coal, for a total of $14.7 million. Let’s hope the word gets out to China’s 15,000 textile mills that going green is good business.
China going green one textile mill at the time
More of Today's Solutions
New method uses sound waves to map soil health, stop famine, and restore farm...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Across the world, soil scientists are trading in their shovels for something unexpected: seismic sensors. In a breakthrough ...
Read MoreThis simple 15-minute mindset exercise can ease anxiety, science shows
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A growing body of research is revealing how a short, simple activity that is done in just 15 ...
Read More3 habits of the happiest people
Think of the happiest people you know. Do you find yourself often wondering what they are doing to maintain a general level of joy? ...
Read MoreChangemakers of the week: GRuB and SparkNJ
Every day on the Optimist Daily, we report on solutions from around the world. Though we love solutions big and small, the ones that ...
Read More
