Twenty-three Chinese textiles companies, many of which provide fabric for big brands and retailers, have saved over 57 million yuan ($8 million) in costs annually by implementing efficiency improvements, including advanced technologies, a report from an international NGO on Tuesday showed.

These improvements have dramatically reduced the pollution generated by these companies, reducing the consumption of 3.9 million metric tons of water and 30,000 tons of coal annually, based on the report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a New York City-based nonprofit environmental organization.

The 23 companies participated in a joint effort known as Clean by Design (CBD) – an innovative global model for Green Supply Chain programs, led by NRDC, that calls upon multinational apparel retailers and fashion brands to take responsibility for the environmental impacts of their factories abroad.

Over the past 20 years, China has become the epicenter of global manufacturing as multinational corporations have concentrated their production there.

In addition, more than half the fabric in the world is produced in China nowadays, according to the China Textile Industry Development Report (2014/2015), which could bring mass pollution problems.