Fashion’s considerable water use comes with real costs that are systematically pushed out of view at the same time as brands continue to publish sustainability commitments.

The Drip: Voices on Water, Labor and Sustainability in the Fashion Industry is a new publication from NGO Drip by Drip examining one of fashion’s most ignored supply chain failures.

The publication shows that water risk is not being managed; it is being displaced, onto workers, communities and ecosystems furthest from brand headquarters and least represented in sustainability reporting.

Water is fashion’s largest environmental impact, yet it remains structurally overlooked. A single pair of jeans can require up to 9,000 litres. Most of this water remains invisible within sustainability reporting, audit frameworks, and sourcing decisions.

As water scarcity accelerates under climate change, even modest investments in local water solutions can deliver measurable social and environmental benefits. By combining environmental industry education with hands-on infrastructure, the report positions water not as a technical issue, but as a structural one, shaped by pricing, governance, and power. It calls for a shift from abstract targets to accountability grounded in evidence,’ lived experience’, and shared responsibility across the supply chain.

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