**7.2 Water use**

Water use is dominated by Article 1 with 100% cotton fiber content. This effect originates from the water use in cotton cultivation stage of the overall lifecycle of the denim fabric. Once 20% of cotton is replaced with polymeric materials, the level decreases nearly the same amount, by 20% for the rest of the articles.

Water usage of man-made polymeric fibers has a minor effect in this impact category. Man-made cellulosic fibers, on the other hand, are made from trees such as eucalyptus and beech that can grow with rain water and do not require irrigation which in turns reduces the freshwater use for fiber production hence the fabric [90]. Besides, TENCEL technology; manufactured in closed loop production which recycles water and reuses the solvents at >99% recovery rate. This avoids waste, ensures high resource utilization and results in less water consumption as well as fewer emissions.
