Two-thirds of high-street garments tested in a study byGreenpeace contained potentially harmful chemicals, the group said,highlighting the findings with a “toxic” fashion show in Beijing.
The environmental campaign group is pushing for fashionbrands to commit to “zero discharge of all hazardous chemicals” by 2020 and torequire suppliers to publicise any toxic chemicals they release into theenvironment.
Greenpeace said its investigation tested 141 garments from20 top global fashion brands purchased in 29 countries and regions in April ofthis year for chemicals that might harm the environment or human health.
The garments were made in at least 18 countries, mostly inthe developing world, according to Greenpeace. Samples tested included jeans,trousers, t-shirts, dresses and underwear, it said.
The tests found that 89 of the garments contained“detectable levels” of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), which it said can breakdown into hormone disrupting chemicals.
“Even the apparently small, but cumulative quantities of asubstance such as NPE in individual items of clothing, which are legallyallowed, can still be damaging,” the group said in its report.
At the fashion show in Beijing, one model sportingleopard-print trousers carried an IV bag filled with orange goo, while anotherin an ivory bustier wore a bulging neck brace and face mask.
Another model with black powder caked around her eyes likebruises posed grimly with her arm in a sling.
“Major fashion brands are turning us all into fashionvictims by selling us clothes that contain hazardous chemicals that contributeto toxic water pollution around the world, both when they are made and washed,”Li Yifang, senior toxics campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia, said in arelease.
The report, titled “Toxic Threads: The Big FashionStitch-Up”, also said that “high levels of toxic phthalates” were found in fourproducts and “cancer-causing amines from the use of azo dyes” were found in twoproducts.
“As global players, fashion brands have the opportunity towork on global solutions to eliminate the use of hazardous substancesthroughout their product lines and to drive a change in practices throughouttheir supply chains,” the report said.
With fashion seasons coming closer together, more clothesare piling up in landfills more frequently, Greenpeace said.
“As fashion gets more and more globalised, more and moreconsumers worldwide are becoming fashion’s victims while contributing to theindustry’s pollution,” Greenpeace's Li said.
“But it doesn’t have to be so.”
