The campaign to put top fashion brands on trial

 

Consumers are submerged under a sea of organic products. Everything from food, furniture, facial products and now, the fashion industry, has made the word “organic” the typical green stamp of approval for sustainable practices. But let’s face it, when it comes to green fashion, eco jargon can become confusing and greenwashed. Organic cotton is a good place to begin, but the eco movement has to look beyond that. There are other more sustainable fabrics, not to mention there is no guarantee organic cotton won’t contain hazardous chemicals in the dye and finishing process. 

 

Water pollution is a serious problem in most countries and the fashion industry is currently causing a toxic scene in water systems around the world. But what exactly does the environment go through when your t-shirt is made? From growing the cotton, to dyeing it a beautiful deep sapphire blue shade, to finally washing it at home, water is present at every stage. It is currently being overused and poisoned by color and other toxic contaminants. Let’s have a quick overview of the facts at hand, and look at how fashion-forward labels are going the extra mile to pioneer new ways in purifying the water, the environment and our closets. 

 

The Trial

China is the world’s largest textile manufacturer and when you hear they can predict next season’s fashion color by looking at the color of its rivers, its time to put the industry on trial. Due to how the cloth is processed and dyed, the practice of dumping chemicals is severely polluting h20 around the globe. The U.S. is fortunate to have cancer causing chemicals banned from polluting our water systems, but Greenpeace, the largest independent environmental organization, has found companies that sell their clothing in the U.S. to have hazardous chemical residues on the clothing and chemicals that are currently poisoning a river, lake, or waterway in othercountries. In July 2011, Greenpeace launched an international Detox Campaign and has been putting top leading fashion brands on a global trial by exposing their water pollution indiscretions. High levels of toxic contaminants such as phthalates, cancer-causing amine, azo dyes, or NPEs were found in every brand of the garments Greenpeace tested. No direct link is made to the wearer of the garments, but when released to the environment, the effects are widespread on humans and aquatic life around the globe. Even if the use of NPEs and toxic chemicals are banned, the toxins can accumulate in wastewater and domestic water. Dyeing and other processing such as printing images on garments contain the aforementioned toxins and due to regulations requiring elimination of these chemicals it ends up in waterways. Washing these garments leads to domestic wastewater contamination and finally when they are eventually thrown away because of wear and tear, the chemicals leech into the groundwater.

 

H&M and other large fashion brands have signed up for the “Detox Challenge” to eliminate hazardous chemicals in production of their clothing and significantly change policies to meet the needs of the environment and eco-consumers by 2020. John Deans, A Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace, says, "Any change in a company's practice takes time.” Slowly, but surely, the campaign is making progress for a greener fashion future with its “zero discharge” goal. 

 

The Closing Argument H2O Facts 

• Less than 1% of water is suitable for human consumption and 70% of that grows our crops ¹

• 40% of the world’s population lives in river basins and experience severe waters carcity at least 1 month every year ¹

• 780 million people=2.5 times the population of the U.S=# of people that lack access to clean h2O ²

• 2,700 liters of water=1 t-shirt=enough water for 1 person to drink for 900 days ¹

• 20,000 liters of water=1 t-shirt and a pair of jeans ¹Textile dyeing contributes to about 20% of the total waste water flow ³

• 72 toxic chemicals have been identified in water solely from textile dyeing, 30 of which cannot be removed ³

• 38% of our water footprint comes from the laundry process 41

1 http://worldwildlife.org, 2 http://water.org, 3 http://www.worldbank.org, 4 http://www.unilever.com

 

Jury Is Still Out 
A Big Player, H&M continues to pave the way in sustainable and ethical fashion on a global scale. As they tackle skeptics with extensive plans for the future and crunch numbers in their Sustainability Report, consumers are left with impressive policies and commitments. H&M recently formed a partnership with World Wildlife Fund, the globe’s leading conservation organization, to take a look at the way they use water at every stage of production, including in their offices. Malin Bjorne, press contact working in the sustainability area at H&M says, “It is about having a total overview of how we operate today and where we can make a difference. Since we are a big player in our industry we are convinced that we can have a positive impact and also inspire others to further develop their water efforts.” They hope other companies will follow in their footsteps.

 

Smaller Players such as A.D.O Organics, Prophetik and ROOD by rENs are creating unique dye solutions that can have a sizable positive impact not only for our water, but also as innovators paving the way to a healthier future. Anjelika Krishna, Owner and Designer of A.D.O Organics, does not use chemical dyes in her clothing, only herbal dyes made from ingredients such as turmeric and pomegranate seeds. In the end, the dye waste is used as garden compost. Jeff Garner, the fashion designer of Prophetik, takes pride in the process and result of his designs; he uses plant and earth based dyes from the Nashville Community Garden. Renee Mennen & Stefanie van Keijsteren, dutch designers and creators of the uniquely personal The ROOD by rENs Collection. Each piece is entirely hand-dyed and sourced by whomever deposits the garment to them. Renee says, “The collection consists of… clothes of various fashion houses of different people from different parts of the world.” The garments are uniquely connected with the color red and every single piece is tracked and traced with a different story to tell. 

 

No longer is it a secret; this is just the beginning. The beginning of change that each eco innovator and fashion industry partaker, big and small, producer and consumer hold in their hands to make a difference in this world.