As the fashion industry continues to grow so does its environmental impact. While consumers and manufacturers have begun to recognize their impact on today’s natural resources we still face huge amounts of pollution, specifically in our world’s water. One of the most widely used fibers, cotton, has created an industry dependent on water, which is becoming growingly scare. The goal of this case study is to identify and understand consumers’ concerns when it comes to water use in the cotton industry. Reviewing what industry leaders are already doing to help reduce their water waste and pollution is of the biggest concern. Specifically investigating what consumers already know about sustainable manufacturing practices and how much value they place on them. To obtain this data we plan on using a comprehensive survey that will be distributed to students at Kent State University’s School of Fashion Design and Merchandising. These students are large consumers of fashion goods and are also likely to understand or have a basic understanding or water usage in cotton production. The survey will as opinion based questions and will use a Likert-Type scale. From this data we expect to see that consumers in this group will identify that they would be more likely to purchase a product if it was made ethically. However they will most likely note that design and cost drive their overall purchase decision. In conclusion, we hope to find a positive correlation between consumer’s purchasing decision and ethical practices.