Waste produced from textile production is usually disposed of in waterways and remain in the environment long after they have been released.
On 5th December 2012 Greenpeace investigated the textile production in Mexico City. It was revealed that the two largest textile manufacturing facilities in Mexico were dumping industrial waste consisting of hazardous and toxic chemicals into the waterways. The water samples that were tested on were taken from near the pipe mouths. Brands linked to the facilities include Levi’ s, Calvin Klein and more. The manufacturing processes were not previously scrutinized due to the Kaltex and Lavamex facilities operating under weak laws( Greenpeace, 2012).
Kaltex yarn is a plant in Tepeii that has yarn spinning facilities, based in either acrylic or cotton fibre. Kaltex is more known for its produce of specialised denim for their customers( Kaletex, n. d).
Lavamex’ s website states that it is an industrial company that has machinery and equipment facilities in Mexico City. The company was founded in 1946 and has 40 employees on estimate( FindTheCompany, n. d).
The Toxics Campaign Coordinator at Greenpeace Mexico, Pierre Terras( 2012) says,“ This is some of the worst water pollution from the textile industry Greenpeace has found in Mexico. These facilities are so secretive that Greenpeace had to force the government to disclose even the most basic information.”
In the Mexican culture water is seen to be a sacred source, but is now under threat. It has been stated that 70 % of freshwater resources in Mexico are affected by pollution( Greenpeace, 2012). Mexico is an extremely important country for textile production and manufacturing, as it is one of the largest denim producers in the world. Mexico is under pressure from the US Market as it supplies a large amount of textiles.
Mexico has many inequalities and inadequate regulations and enforcements, due to it being a developing country, this means that water resources in Mexico are rather vulnerable due to pressures and demands of first world countries( Greenpeace, 2012).
Denim is such a versatile material, originally made for workers due to its durability, it has become increasingly fashionable. Denim is a staple piece that everyone owns( Denimblog, 2010). The total number of denim jeans sold worldwide in 2016 is 1,240,000,000 and the size of the global denim market in the same year is $ 56,200,000,000( Statistic Brain, 2016).
Levi’ s is a leading denim brand and has been around since the 1800’ s( Levi Strauss, n. d). Levis’ s has stated on their website that their goal is“ to become the world’ s most sustainable apparel company by transforming the way we do business”. It also says that they are pioneering practices to reduce the use of energy, water, chemicals and other materials in the apparel industry( Levi Strauss, n. d).
Levi’ s are looking at ways they can reduce and eliminate the discharge of hazardous chemicals in their production. Their designers came up with the solution of“ Water < Less” which is a serious of innovative finishing techniques, which can save up to 96 % of water( Levi Strauss, n. d).”“ By utilizing our Water < Less™ innovations, we believe the apparel industry can save at least 50 billion litres of water by 2020( Levis Strauss, n. d).”
For part of Levi’ s Clean by Design programme, they have partnered with the Natural Resources Defence Council to reduce water, energy and chemical use at the textile mill level. They have said that they are working hard to extend their Global Effluent Requirements to textile mills to ensure their main priority is reducing the impact on the water system( Levi Strauss, n. d).
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