Half of all the textiles produced in the world are made in China, many in factories lacking strict environmental standards -- leading to pollution and the wasteful use of the country’s scant water and energy resources. As part of its Responsible Sourcing Initiative, NRDC teamed up with the Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences to focus on ways of reducing these impacts at Redbud Textile, which supplies woven cotton used in trousers, women’s blouses, and bed linens to such companies as Wal-Mart and Levi Strauss. An analysis of the factory’s operations showed that improvements -- for instance, scheduling similar colors to be run in succession and selecting more efficient dyes -- could reduce water pollution as well as annual water consumption by as much as 60 percent. “None of the things we recommended involves buying a fancy piece of equipment,” says Linda Greer, who directs NRDC’s public health program and is one of the NRDC China team leaders.

Redbud isn’t mandated to make changes, but Greer believes that the potential annual savings in money -- up to $12,000 on water and $158,000 on dyes -- and production time could be incentive enough. For U.S. shoppers, making it easier for them to purchase greener textiles is a no-brainer way to help the planet.