In a report entitled ‘Dirty Laundry 2’ published on August 23rd, 2011, the charity revealed the presence of toxic matter in the clothes of 14 big brands.

The labels in question are Adidas, Uniqlo, Calvin Klein, Li-Ning, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lacoste, Converse, Youngor, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Kappa, G-Star Raw and Puma. After having subjected 78 samples of clothes from these brands - bought in 18 countries and made among others in China, Vietnam, Malaysia or the Philippines - to analyses that Greenpeace discovered the hidden truth: two thirds of these samples contained Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). These substances, generally used as industrial detergents or in natural or synthetic textile production, decompose, once dumped in the ground, into nonylphenol (NP), a very toxic product and notably harmful to the fertility and reproduction of living beings. According to WWF, these substances, imitating oestrogen hormones, are at the basis of the ‘feminisation’ of numerous male fish in Europe as well as disruptions in the sexual development of mammals.

This report follows ‘Dirty Laundry’, a first report made public in July 2011, which was told of the poisoning of the water in Chinese rivers by chemical waste dumped by big textile companies.

Brands Nike and Puma have agreed not to use toxic chemical substances between now and 2020.

Héloïse Keller © modemonline.com