Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Major(s)

Environmental Economics and Management; Political Science

Document Type

Immediate Campus-Only Restricted Access

Abstract

Water quality has been a point of discussion in the global discussions on climate change and sustainability since their inception. With that in mind, anything that degrades the quality of water should be investigated and resolved. Numerous studies have been conducted on the garment industry’s water pollution and, therefore, the impact on water quality. While many studies have been done on countries with large garment production facilities, the US has been left out of these investigations. This research seeks to fill this gap in knowledge and provide an estimate of the marginal impact of garment production on water quality in the US using a fixed effects panel regression model. This study found that garment production in the US decreased dissolved oxygen saturation by 0.0664 percentage points on average for every million dollars in total wages and decreased pH by 0.0021 on average for every million dollars in total wages. These results illustrate a negative correlation between the garment production industry in the US even though the US has very strict water quality enforcement measures.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54718/HIHZ4728

Date Defended

4-25-2025

Thesis Director

Dr. Seong Yun

Second Committee Member

Dr. Brenna Jungers

Third Committee Member

Dr. Christopher Snyder

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