How Much Water is Required for Manufactured Goods?

Contributed by Waterless, Co. 

Released in 1985, Madonna's "Material Girl" is often hailed as one of the most iconic music videos ever created.
 
The four-minute video, made in just two days, presents Madonna as a spoiled heiress surrounded by nineteen tuxedoed suitors, all offering her extravagant gifts.
 
It's viewed as a glamorous reimagining of an earlier dance number made by Marilyn Monroe.
 
However, little is known about the video's environmental impact – such as how much water was used to make all the clothing worn in the video.
 
This includes all the undergarments, clothing, and tuxedos worn by the male dancers along with her own fashions, which included several pairs of gloves and numerous outfit changes over the two-day filming period.
 
It is because of this that Klaus Reichardt, CEO and founder of Waterless Co., Inc., a company known for its innovative no-water urinals, conducted a survey on LinkedIn, asking his followers and connections the following question:
 
How Much Water Do You Believe Was Used to Make the Fashions in the Madonna Video "Material Girl"?
 
The responses were as follows:
 
• 10,000 gallons: 13 percent
• 50,000 gallons: 33 percent
• 650,000 gallons: 33 percent
• Over 700,000 gallons: 21 percent
 
"The majority (over 50 percent) believed the water usage was a staggering 650,000 gallons or more," says Reichardt.
 
"And they’re probably right. Just a single t-shirt worn by one of the male dancers required a shocking seven hundred gallons of water to produce … so you can see how it took hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to make that video."

Reichardt emphasizes that he is not singling out the fashion industry or any other industry for using huge volumes of water.
 
"Instead, when it comes to water, my goal is to empower all industries and all consumers to take responsibility for their water use. Our mantra should be reduce waste, use less, and always use water more efficiently."
 
How Much Water is in Your Closet?

The amount of water it takes to produce the different types of clothing in your closet can vary significantly, but together, the amount can be staggering, especially those items made of cotton. In general, it takes:

• Ninety-nine gallons of water to make a pair of socks.

• Seven hundred gallons to make one cotton t-shirt.

• Eight hundred ninety gallons to make one sweatshirt or hoodie.

• One thousand nine hundred gallons to make your favorite pair of jeans.