Water and Cotton

Cotton is the world’s thirstiest crop. It takes over six pints of water to produce just one cotton bud and a total of 2,000 litres to produce one cotton t-shirt.

Over half of the world’s cotton fields are irrigated since irrigated cotton on average results in higher yields per unit of area. Irrigated cotton cultivation requires about 550-950 litres per square meter. This adds up to a staggering total of 10,000-17,000 litres of water just to produce 1 kg of cotton lint.

Global cotton consumption has been estimated to be responsible for 2.6 per cent of the global water use, however, much of the impact is not felt in the country where the cotton is consumed, but where it has been produced. As a global average, 44 per cent of the water use for cotton growth and processing is not for serving the domestic market but for export.

As a result it has been estimated that nearly half of the water problems in the world related to cotton growth and processing can be attributed to foreign demand for cotton products. In this respect, it has been calculated that 84% of EU’s cotton-related water footprint lies outside the EU, with major impacts particularly in India and Uzbekistan.

Cotton production has a high impact on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity through activities such as excessive water withdrawal for irrigation, runoff from fields, drainage, pesticide application, dam construction and land reclamation. The activities result in a range of impacts from salinisation, pollution to loss of soil and biodiversity.

The Aral Sea in Uzbekistan serves as a case study for how cotton can have a detrimental effect on water supplies. Once the world's fourth largest body of inland water, the Aral has now shrunk to just 15% of its former volume. Its salinity has risen by almost 600% and all native fish are gone from its waters. Over 40,000 km2 of the former sea bed is now exposed - an area equivalent in size to six million football (soccer) pitches. Trawlers lie stranded and commercial fishing activities have long since ground to a halt.
Learn more about The Aral Sea