Ever heard of virtual water? It is the water that is needed to produce consumer goods. It means all the irigation, cleaning etc. that goes into the product...
Here are a few examples:
2700 litres for 1 cotton shirt
75 litres of water for one glass of beer
5000 litres of water for 1 kg of cheese
1500 litres of water for 1 kg of cane sugar
(Source: The Water Footprint Network (2011): http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/productgallery&product= [20.09.2011]
In some countries there might be enough water for the production of these goods, but what if production moves to a dry region (because it is cheaper), where people don't even have enough water to supply themselves? Just buy the new fancy T-shirt anyways?
Learn more about the so called "Water Footprint":
e.g. on The Water Footprint Network: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/home
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