Cleaner Production in Jeans Laundries in Northeast Brazil - Implementing Environmental and Resource Management - page 82

9.3 Environmental Impact of Jeans Laundries
Compared to the production of other clothes, denim has a strong impact on the en-
vironment. First of all, a huge amount of water is required during the whole pro-
duction cycle from planting the cotton to the end product. In total, Chapagain et al.
(2006) estimated an average water consumption of 10,850 litres per pair of jeans.
Since most of the amount of water is related to cotton growing, for jeans produc-
tion in Caruaru and Toritama the main impact is caused by the washing process. In
this last step of production, detergents, conditioners and other chemical substances
are applied to obtain jeans with the desired look. The exact amount of water
needed varies depending on the individual washing process which is mainly influ-
enced by the different design of jeans. Values for water consumption range be-
tween 60 and 100 litres per pair of jeans (Almeida 2005). A total output of one
million jeans every month by all companies therefore, implies not only the con-
sumption of up to 60-100 million litres of water, but also that the same amount of
wastewater needs to be treated in order to avoid environmental damages and risk
to health. Furthermore, water and wastewater treatment are considerable cost fac-
tors.
One of the first steps towards environmental improvements was taken more or
less by chance after the droughts in 1999. The price for water increased dramati-
cally and laundries had to organize the transport of water by trucks from nearby
cities. Interested in an economical solution to reduce the high costs for water, the
owner of the largest laundry in Toritama got in contact with BFZ (Training and
Development Centers of the Bavarian Employers' Association) from Germany.
BFZ developed a technology to recycle water and control water pollution. This
low-cost solution was 70% less expensive than already existing methods, since it
used only material available in the region. The other important factor was the
nomination of a new public attorney in Toritama in 2001. At the same time,
CPRH, the state agency for environment and water resources, started their investi-
gations on environmental pollution by jeans laundries (Almeida 2005). Since the
low-cost solution of BFZ was available, the laundries were obliged to implement a
wastewater treatment system. Most of the treatment facilities have been planned
and implemented by ITEP, the Technological Institute of Pernambuco. At present,
all laundries possess their own wastewater treatment system. Furthermore, work-
ers benefit from increased security, even though there is still need for better pro-
tection. Nevertheless, all efforts undertaken so far have to be considered as first
steps only. Further improvements are necessary to increase the removal efficiency
of the wastewater treatment plants. The resulting sludge from the treatment has to
be adequately disposed.
9.4 Aspects of Energy Efficiency in Jeans Laundries
Jeans laundries are using steam at three stages during the laundering. Usually, in-
side the washing machines hot steam with a temperature of about 200°C is mixed