Toxic chemicals found on clothes for kids
Print Edition
Children’s clothing and shoes made by a dozen globally recognized brands have been found to contain potentially harmful chemicals, Greenpeace said yesterday.
A new investigation by the environmental campaign group showed that at least one article from every brand was found to have chemicals that “can have adverse impacts either on human reproductive, hormonal or immune systems.”
But some substances were at concentrations as low as 1 milligram per kilo, which it described as “the limit of detection.” It was not clear how many samples were over official limits.
The campaign group has issued similar findings before, and in 2012 held a “toxic” fashion show in Beijing to draw attention to its allegation that two-thirds of high-street garments it tested contained harmful chemicals.
Greenpeace analyzed 82 products made in 12 different countries, with China the biggest producer on 29.
“This is a nightmare for parents everywhere looking to buy clothes for their children that don’t contain hazardous chemicals,” Greenpeace East Asia campaigner Chih An Lee said.
“These chemical ‘little monsters’ can be found in everything from exclusive luxury designs to budget fashion, polluting our waterways from Beijing to Berlin,” Lee added.
Of the products tested, 50 items, or 61 percent, were found to contain nonylphenol ethoxylates, or NPEs, which the group said can break down and become toxic “hormone disrupters.”
High levels of PFOA, a chemical that can cause reproductive harm, were also found on some products.
The campaign group said it tested products made by adidas, American Apparel, Burberry, C&A, Disney, Gap, H&M, Li-Ning, Nike, Primark, Puma and Uniqlo.
The investigation follows previous efforts by Greenpeace to push clothing brands for “zero discharge of all hazardous materials” by 2020.
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