Harmful chemicals in textiles

Greenpeace: Harmful chemicals in the majority of garments

23/08/2011

In the fashion industry many harmful chemicals are still used today, which are also to be proven in the products of the brand manufacturers sold in this country, so the result of a recent Greenpeace investigation. For the environment and the health of the population in the producing countries, the chemicals are a serious threat, warns the environmental organization.

Greenpeace's product tests also included residues of harmful chemicals from most brands such as Adidas, Calvin Klein, Lacoste or Nike. In the study on the chemical Nonylphenolethoxylate (NPE), this was detected in two-thirds of the garments, reports Greenpeace. Since nonylphenolethoxylates are degraded to the toxic nonylphenol, which accumulates in the environment and thus enters the food chain, threatens, especially in the producing countries, significant health problems of the population and far-reaching damage to the environment, warns Greenpeace. The environmental protection organization therefore demanded that the fashion brands finally abandon the use of harmful chemicals

Two-thirds of textile chemicals are contaminated
In general, the textile industry is considered to be extremely polluting, as per kilogram of material about 100 liters of water are consumed in the production, said Greenpeace. Added to this is the use of potentially harmful substances, such as NPE. Therefore, the environmental organization has examined 78 branded products from 13 different producing countries for NPE. The startling result: around two-thirds of the samples (52 pieces) had NPE. In Germany, for example, the harmful chemical reaches the store shelves, as evidenced by the German NPE-containing articles of the Converse, Kappa, Puma and Li Ning brands. However, the values ​​measured in T-shirts, sneakers and other branded products remain altogether in the health-safe area, explained Greenpeace.

Toxic chemicals endanger the environment and health
However, according to the environmental protection organization, the NPE values ​​to be detected in the end products are an indication of the massive use of the harmful chemical in the manufacture of the textile products. According to the experts, this is of particular concern since NPE is degraded to the toxic nonylphenol, which even at low concentrations can bring serious health problems. Thus, most fashion brands, through the use of the chemical NPE, endanger not only the environment, but also the health of the population in the producing countries. Because the toxic nonylphenol gets into the rivers and lakes with the sewage of the factories. Here, the increased concentration of the chemical not only causes the death of numerous animal species (for example, fish, mussels), but also leads to the nonylphenol in the food chain.

Brand manufacturers use substances harmful to health and the environment
According to Greenpeace, products of the brand manufacturers Adidas, Calvin Klein, Converse, G-Star-Raw, H & M, Lacoste, Nike, Kappa and Puma were burdened with NPE. According to Greenpeace, the only textile manufacturer is the fashion chain Gap without NPE. According to Greenpeace chemical expert Manfred Santen, the current findings also show, „that the use of hazardous chemicals in the textile industry is not limited to China.“ The use of potentially harmful to health and the environment is in the „Textile industry is a global problem“, explained Manfred Santen. Given the relatively steep increase in Chinese wages, many textile manufacturers have moved their production to even poorer countries such as Bangladesh or Pakistan, the Greenpeace expert said. Here workers are even cheaper and environmental standards even lower than in China, reported Greenpeace. In the European Union (EU), the use of NPE has been subject to strict regulations since 2003.

Reduce the use of chemicals in the textile industry
According to Greenpeace, the harmful chemical NPE is used primarily as a detergent in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. However, NPE is still used on a large scale by textile manufacturers in Turkey. Turkey is considered one of the most important producing countries of textile products in Europe. According to Greenpeace, however, not only NPE use poses a considerable risk to humans and the environment in these countries. The textile industry relies on a whole chemical cocktail in the production of fashion items. Environmental protection organizations such as Greenpeace have been calling for years to drastically reduce the use of toxic chemicals in the textile industry. However, the fashion brands have so far not been prepared to banish the harmful substances from their production.

First brand manufacturers announce renouncement of chemicals
Greenpeace has therefore devoted itself in a recent campaign to the use of the controversial chemicals in order to make the public more aware of the difficulties in the producing countries. The environmental protection organization last in July on the pollution of two Chinese rivers (Yangtze, Pearl River) by the local textile mills. The Greenpeace experts found many different environmental poisons in the river deltas of the two rivers that had flown into the river from the factories. According to Greenpeace, the textile factories also serve well-known fashion manufacturers for production. In response to the Greenpeace campaign, manufacturers Nike and Puma have already announced that they will switch their complete production by 2020 and completely abandon the harmful chemicals. (Fp)

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Picture: Rainer Sturm