Working with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Walmart and H&M committed to working with their Chinese textile suppliers to reduce water, energy, and chemical use in their supply chains. Walmart announced its work with NRDC’s Clean by Design project at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, helping strategically selected mills adopt Clean by Design practices. H&M initiated a similar agreement with NRDC September 13.

Through Clean by Design—an initiative aimed at curbing pollution from textile mills—NRDC hopes to use the purchasing power of well-known brands and retailers as a lever to reduce the environmental impacts of textile production. Textile manufacturing consumes and pollutes as much as 200 tons of water per ton of fabric, and produces considerable CO2 emissions. NRDC’s Clean by Design techniques not only reduce water pollution and energy use, but also help plants run more efficiently and use fewer resources, saving companies significant money.

Both companies will undertake pilot efforts at key mills before bringing the effort to scale in their supply chain. NRDC is calling for other major companies in the apparel industry to become more familiar with their supply chain and develop policies that reward textile mills for reducing their environmental footprint.

So far, trial implementations at textile plants have shown that NRDC’s recommended practices can pay for themselves in less than eight months. Taken together, the best practices can cut approximately 25 percent of water and 30 percent of fuel use. Other retailers and brands collaborating with NRDC in the Clean by Design effort include Gap, Levi’s, Nike, Marks and Spencer, and Li and Fung, a large Hong Kong sourcing firm.