Greenpeace warns of chemistry in children's clothing

Greenpeace study: Children's clothing from the discounter burdened with carcinogenic substances

23/10/2014

Children's clothing from the discounters Aldi, Lidl, Rewe (Penny) and Tchibo often contains dangerous chemicals. This informs the environmental organization Greenpeace. „In more than half of the samples, independent laboratories found chemicals that were harmful to the environment and health above the comparison and precautionary values. Some of these substances are considered carcinogenic, damage the reproductive system or the liver“, it says in the press release of the environmentalists.

Children's shoes are particularly heavily contaminated with chemicals
„Parents like to throw a pair of children's shoes on milk and butter in the shopping cart. But the discount store clothing is often loaded with dangerous chemicals. We ask Aldi, Lidl, Rewe and Tchibo to sell non-toxic clothing,“ explains Kirsten Brodde, Textile expert at Greenpeace.

Especially children's shoes are heavily contaminated according to the investigation. All eleven shoes tested, mostly plastic sandals and clogs, contained pollutants such as dimethylformamide (DMF), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) or 2-phenyl-2-propanol (2PP). As Greenpeace says, be DMF „Toxic for reproduction, acutely toxic and harmful to health when in contact with the skin. "In children's shoes of the discounter Aldi, 190 milligrams of DMF were detected per kilogram, the Federal Environmental Agency recommends a maximum of ten milligrams per kilogram, according to the environmentalists.

The highest concentration of possibly carcinogenic naphthalene from the PAH group (2.2 milligrams per kilogram) was contained in Tchibo children's wellington boots. From the end of 2015, children's skin contact products will be banned from sale if they contain more than 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of the carcinogens in the PAH group.

Often, the unpleasant odor of the shoes reveals that they contain harmful chemicals. „Most shoes have a pungent odor, which is often indicative of 2-phenyl-2-propanol (2PP) or acetophenone. These substances can trigger allergies and irritate skin and eyes“, writes Greenpeace. All of Lidel's children's shoes from the test had a 2PP concentration above the comparison value.

Lots of poisonous chemistry in children's rainwear, kids jackets and T-shirts from the discounter
Also in rainwear, jackets and t-shirts for children, the environmentalists discovered toxic substances. „While wearing these garments does not directly harm your health, chemicals get into the environment and food through products and factories“, says in the message from Greenpeace.

„Some of the chemicals found in the study have worrying properties and, in our opinion, are not in textiles - and certainly not in children's clothing ", quoted „tagesschau.de“ Lena Vierke from the Federal Environment Agency.

With regard to the use of hazardous chemicals, the environmentalists Aldi-Süd and Aldi-Nord considered „miserable“, Lidl as „bad“ and Rewe / Penny and Tchibo as „On the way“. However, none of the discounters is poison-free. Tchibo, Aldi and Lidl are among the ten largest textile retailers in Germany. Their annual turnover is about one billion euros. „The by-business of discounters with worrying cheap clothes is booming. Aldi, Lidl and Tchibo must use their market power to enforce clean production standards,“ calls Brodde.