Forget carbon: you should be checking your water footprint

Ethical shopping just got harder – but the latest attempt to help conscientious consumers calculate their impact on the environment could do more to preserve scarce resources than all its predecessors.

The concept of water footprints – or “virtual water” – will tell consumers the amount of precious H2O that has been used in the manufacture of products they buy. As with carbon footprints, a “virtual water” figure will indicate the extent to which a particular product has cost the earth. And, as with carbon footprints, the message is clear: less is better.
Independent