Making apparel production more sustainable, global apparel retailer Gap Inc and textile major Arvind Limited on Tuesday launched new water treatment facility that will eliminate the use of freshwater at Arvind’s denim manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad.

The move is estimated to save about eight million litres of fresh water per day or about 2.5 billion litres of water annually, thereby preserving the local community’s vital freshwater resources.

Arvind announced that its denim factory will now operate entirely with reclaimed water using Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) technology, which will treat domestic wastewater drawn from the surrounding community without chemicals in the process.

Notably, the apparel industry is considered as one of the most water intensive sectors in the world. In India, about 54 per cent of the population faces high to extremely-high water risk.

A newly constructed pipeline will draw wastewater from the local municipal line. In the face of local water scarcity challenges, the facility will also reduce business risk for Arvind, Gap Inc. and the other brands due to the new reliable source of wastewater.

"We are proud to reach this milestone in our ongoing efforts to end water-wasting processes and reduce our environmental impact. This project is an important example of innovative, sustainable solutions we can unlock through partnership across the apparel industry,” said Christophe Roussel, EVP of Global Sourcing at Gap Inc.

Punit Lalbhai, Executive Director, Arvind Limited said, “This collaboration with GAP Inc. will not only help us achieve our water goals collectively but will also help us eliminate usage of freshwater in our textile production process. In last two decades and recently with the help of Arvind Envisol we have made significant efforts towards water reduction and recycling activities. The partnership will also help in expanding scope of water savings across various industry sectors through an innovation center.”

As per the agreement, Gap Inc. will have exclusive rights to the water savings through the project, including the annual savings from the project moving forward. By the end of 2020, the project will save 3 billion litres of freshwater in total, which will be applied to the company’s goal of reducing 10 billion litres of water in the supply chain by 2020. Through product design innovation and partnership with its vendors, the company has saved more than 5.7 billion litres of water to date.

Arvind Limited aims to eliminate fully the use of fresh water from its textile production by the end of 2020. Currently, more than 90 per cent of the company’s water use is from recycled sources. Arvind also has the largest sustainable cotton farm operation in India for a textile mill.