Published : Aug. 24, 2011 - 10:37
BEIJING (AFP) - Traces of toxic chemicals harmful to the environment and to human health have been detected in products made by 14 top clothing manufacturers, Greenpeace said Tuesday.
Samples of clothing from top brands including Adidas, Uniqlo, Calvin Klein, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lacoste, Converse and Ralph Lauren were found to be tainted with the chemicals, known as nonylphenol ethoxylates, the watchdog said at the launch of its report "Dirty Laundry 2".
The Adidas AG logo is seen on a t-shirt at the company's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. (Bloomberg)
Greenpeace campaigner Li Yifang said that nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), commonly used as detergents in industries including the production of natural and synthetic textiles, were detected in two-thirds of the samples the group tested.
"NPEs break down to form nonylphenol, which has toxic, persistent and hormone-disrupting properties," Li told journalists in Beijing.
"It mimics female hormones, alters sexual development and affects reproductive systems."
Components of NPEs have been implicated in the widespread "feminisation" of male fish in parts of Europe and also in disrupting hormone processes in some mammals, according to the campaign group WWF.
Greenpeace said it purchased 78 branded clothing samples -- mostly made in China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines -- from 18 countries around the world and subjected them to scientific analysis.
"Even at low levels, it represents a big threat to the environment and human health," Li said.
"This is not just a problem for the developing countries where textiles are made.
"Since residual levels of NPEs are released when clothes are washed, they are in effect creeping into countries where their use is banned."
Use of the chemicals is restricted in Europe.
As the report was released, activists stormed a flagship Adidas store in Hong Kong, demanding that the store eliminate hazardous chemicals in their products and urging would-be customers to "rethink".
Adidas also came under fire in separate Greenpeace report, "Dirty Laundry", released last month, which accused the manufacturers of well-known textile brands of polluting major rivers in China with chemical waste.
About a dozen Greenpeace activists dressed as referees created a stir as they descended on one of Adidas' busiest shops in the southern Chinese city.
They handed out campaign leaflets to customers while handing warning yellow cards to store staff, cautioning the brand to "play clean".
Eight samples of wastewater from two factories in the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas, identified as suppliers for the brands, contained "a cocktail of hazardous chemicals", the group said in last month's report.
Nike and Puma have since pledged since then to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals in their products by 2020, but Adidas has not, according to Greenpeace spokeswoman Vivien Yau.
Adidas Hong Kong did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But the company has previously said it used the Youngor Group -- one of the accused suppliers -- for garment cutting and sewing only, not to source fabrics, but had also asked Youngor to investigate Greenpeace's claims.
It added that it had a comprehensive policy on avoiding dangerous substances.
However, Yau said: "As the second biggest player in the sportswear industry, Adidas has an obligation to detoxify its global supply chain.
"So far, the brand has done nothing despite repeated requests from us. This is really unacceptable."
유니클로, 아디다스등 독성 화학물질 검출
아디다스, 유니클로와 같은 유명 브랜드의 의류 제품에 서 인체에 해로운 독성 화학물질이 검출됐다고 국제 환경단체 그린피스가 23일(현지
시각) 밝혔다.
그린피스는 이날 발표한 '더러운 빨래 2(Dirty Laundry 2)' 보고서에서 아디다 스, 유니클로, 캘빈 클라인, H&M, 컨버스, 랄프 로렌, 라코스테 등 14개 유명 브랜 드의 의류가 환경호르몬인 노닐페놀 에톡시레이트(NPEs)에 오염돼 있었다고 말했다.
그린피스는 주로 중국, 베트남, 말레이시아, 필리핀 등지에 공장을 둔 78개 의 류 기업의 제품을 구입해 조사를 벌였으며, 문제가 된 14개 업체는 제품의 3분의 2 에서 NPEs가 발견됐다고 설명했다.
합성 세제의 원료인 NPEs는 인체의 성적 발달을 방해하고, 생식기능에 이상 현 상을 초래하는 것으로 알려져 유럽에서는 사용이 금지돼 있다.
그린피스 활동가 리 이팡은 "NPEs는 아주 적은 양으로도 환경과 인체에 큰 위협 이 될 수 있다"며 이 화학 물질의 사용은 의류를 생산하는 개발도상국의 문제만은 아니라고 지적했다.
그는 "옷을 빨면 의류에 남아있던 NPEs가 방출되기 때문에, NPEs는 사용을 금지 한 국가에도 서서히 퍼져 나간다"고 말했다.
그린피스는 지난달에도 아디다스, 나이키, 푸마 등 다국적 기업의 의류가 중국 에서 생산되는 과정에서 독성물질이 배출돼 환경을 오염시키고 있다는 '더러운 빨래 (Dirty Laundry)’보고서를 발표했다.
이에 나이키와 푸마는 오는 2020년까지 독성 화학물질의 사용을 완전히 금지하 겠다고 발표했으나 아디다스는 어떠한 조치도 취하지 않았다고 그린피스의 비비안 야우 대변인이 밝혔다.
그는 "세계에서 2번째로 큰 스포츠 브랜드인 아디다스는 생산 과정에서 나오는 독성 물질을 없앨 의무가 있다"고 강조했다.