Water footprint assessment of handwoven silk production

The objective of this study was to determine the magnitudes of the water footprints throughout the production chain of silk. This research is divided into two parts: the agriculture of mulberry cultivation and the handwoven silk production process. The research results revealed that the highest water footprint for 2019 was 1710 cubic metric/tonne, which was greater than the highest water footprint for 2018 of 1125 cubic metric/tonne. For the handwoven silk products, the blue water footprint, grey water footprint, and total water footprint were 445,156, and 601 litres/kg, respectively. The water footprint of one silk shirt was calculated backwards from the handwoven silk production process as 376 litres. Thailand, the world's largest native handwoven silk product exporter must have a strategy to promote the silk industry's competitiveness on the world market. Policies stating that farmers, entrepreneurs, government agencies and private organisations should be prepared to address eco-friendly trends for sustainable production and consumption are also recommended.