Halt urged to toxics in clothes
By Lu Feiran |
August 24, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE environmental group Greenpeace is again calling out some leading fashion companies, urging them to stop using harmful materials in their products.
A recent investigation by the organization found residues of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the products of 14 leading international brands, including Nike, Adidas, Puma and China's Li Ning, Greenpeace said yesterday.
The group commissioned an independent analysis of 78 types of products sold in 18 countries. The study found that two thirds of them contained NPE, which is used as a surface active agent on clothes. The results reinforce the findings of Greenpeace's Dirty Laundry report last month, said the organization.
Late last month, Greenpeace revealed evidence that two factory complexes supplying major clothing brands are discharging toxic chemicals into China's Yangtze and Pearl River deltas. The complexes were the Youngor Textile Complex and the Well Dyeing Factory Ltd.
Nike and Puma have since promised to wash out the harmful substance in the material.
Greenpeace noted that when NPE is discharged into the natural environment, it breaks down to form nonylphenol (NP), an organic compound with toxic, persistent and hormone-disrupting properties.
"NP is known to accumulate in animals, and it can build up in food chains," said Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Li Yifang. "Even at low levels, it represents a big threat to the environment and human health."
The use of NPs and NPEs in manufacturing is banned in the EU. This year they are placed on China's list of toxic chemicals severely restricted for export and import.
"This is not just a problem for the developing countries where textiles are made," Li said. "Since residual levels of NPEs are released when clothes are washed, they are in effect creeping into countries where their use is banned."
Yesterday both Adidas and Li Ning said they will cooperate with the organization to improve the environment. But Li Ning gave a time frame of eight to 10 years when it said it will try to use safer material.
Adidas said it did not give Youngor permission to use toxic products but will work to control any harm.
A recent investigation by the organization found residues of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the products of 14 leading international brands, including Nike, Adidas, Puma and China's Li Ning, Greenpeace said yesterday.
The group commissioned an independent analysis of 78 types of products sold in 18 countries. The study found that two thirds of them contained NPE, which is used as a surface active agent on clothes. The results reinforce the findings of Greenpeace's Dirty Laundry report last month, said the organization.
Late last month, Greenpeace revealed evidence that two factory complexes supplying major clothing brands are discharging toxic chemicals into China's Yangtze and Pearl River deltas. The complexes were the Youngor Textile Complex and the Well Dyeing Factory Ltd.
Nike and Puma have since promised to wash out the harmful substance in the material.
Greenpeace noted that when NPE is discharged into the natural environment, it breaks down to form nonylphenol (NP), an organic compound with toxic, persistent and hormone-disrupting properties.
"NP is known to accumulate in animals, and it can build up in food chains," said Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Li Yifang. "Even at low levels, it represents a big threat to the environment and human health."
The use of NPs and NPEs in manufacturing is banned in the EU. This year they are placed on China's list of toxic chemicals severely restricted for export and import.
"This is not just a problem for the developing countries where textiles are made," Li said. "Since residual levels of NPEs are released when clothes are washed, they are in effect creeping into countries where their use is banned."
Yesterday both Adidas and Li Ning said they will cooperate with the organization to improve the environment. But Li Ning gave a time frame of eight to 10 years when it said it will try to use safer material.
Adidas said it did not give Youngor permission to use toxic products but will work to control any harm.
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