by Jasmin Malik Chua
Looks like Abercrombie & Fitch has another “situation” on deck, only this time it has nothing to do with getting the cast of Jersey Shore to doff its merch. The American retailer is among 14 global brands Greenpeace is calling out for allegedly releasing hormone-disrupting chemicals—specifically nonylphenol ethoxylates—into the environment. Used as surfactants in textile production, NPEs subsequently break down to form toxic nonphenol, an endocrine disruptor that builds up in the food chain and is pretty nasty even at minute levels.
MORE DIRTY LAUNDRY
Research commissioned by the activist group uncovered NPE in garments by Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Calvin Klein, Converse, G-Star RAW, H&M, Kappa, Lacoste, Li Ning, Nike, Puma, Ralph Lauren, and Uniqlo, according to a new report released today.
A sequel of sorts to Greenpeace’s first Dirty Laundry report six weeks ago, Dirty Laundry 2: Hung Out to Dry implicates the companies in a global problem that affects the entire textile industry: water pollution.
“Our research shows that global clothing brands are responsible for the discharge of hazardous chemicals into waterways in China and across the world, as part of their manufacturing processes,” Yifang Li, a toxic-water campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, says in a statement. “People have a right to know about the chemicals that are present in the very fabric of their clothing and the harmful effects these chemicals have when released into the environment.”
(Source: www.ecouterre.com )