Greenpeace pollutants in textiles

Protest: Greenpeace against poison in textiles

01/27/2014

Our textiles are full of chemicals. Often it is veritable chemistry cocktails to prevent mold growth during transport or as a flame retardant. Three-quarters of all textiles we sell are produced in low-wage countries where there are hardly any bans on the use of chemicals in the production of textiles. This reports the Bavarian consumer center in Munich.

For the Tübingen Greenpeace Group a reason to draw attention to the condition. By signatures, environmental activists are calling for the abandonment of hazardous chemicals in textile production by 2020. 18 well-known manufacturers had already convinced Greenpeace to sign a declaration of self-commitment. „Greenpeace was in the producing countries“, said Ulrike Beck of Greenpeace, „it is partly blatant, what accumulates.“

They are usually long-lived chemicals that accumulate in the environment over time and re-enter the human body through the food chain. The domestic sewage treatment plants can not filter all substances and so not only the human being is burdened, but also our environment. In children's clothing, Greenpeace has in the past detected levels of harmful substances that sometimes exceed many times the internal limits of the environmental organization.

Even expensive brands affected
A Greenpeace study found that phthalates, PFCs, organotin compounds, antimony and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are not only found in cheap clothing, but also in textiles of high-end fashion brands. There, too, chemicals were detected in sometimes alarming quantities. For example, phthalates are suspected of causing damage to the liver and thyroid. The EU has already classified many of these chemical compounds as harmful and a number of proven carcinogenic substances have been banned throughout the EU.

That's assuming these chemicals anyway „occasionally“ can be found in imported textiles. Independent studies on the effects of textile chemicals are scarce, though they are as close to us as almost any other consumable.

Carcinogenic substances in textiles
Formaldehyde has been shown to cause tumors and the so-called azo dyes have long been banned in Germany. But it does not have to come straight to a serious illness like cancer. For many consumers, the chemical ingredients trigger allergies when worn on the skin. Frequently, symptoms of respiratory diseases and damage to the immune system are also observed. Anyone wishing to participate in Greenpeace's petition can register on the company's Facebook page. (Fr)