14 Jan The Story About Toxic Monsters in Kids’ Shoes/Clothing, as Told by Greenpeace
January 14, Greenpeace released a new report detailing the discovery of several potentially dangerous chemical compounds in clothing items and footwear meant for children.
On its website, the organization details that this investigation into what the environmentalists like to call the “toxic monsters” lurking in kids’ clothing and footwear is part of Greenpeace’s Detox Fashion campaign.
In order to assess the health and environmental risks associated with fashion whose target audience is children, Greenpeace purchased as many as 82 kids’ clothing and footwear items, and tested them to see which chemicals they contained in their makeup.
The products were bought back in May and June 2013 from flagship stores and authorized retailers in 25 countries and regions, and were then taken to the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.
“All products were investigated for the presence of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs); certain products were also analysed for phthalates, organotins, per/poly-fluorinated chemicals (PFCs), or antimony, where the analysis was relevant for the type of product,” Greenpeace writes on its website.
“All the hazardous chemicals mentioned above were detected in various products, above the technical limits of detection used in this study,” the organization adds.
The organization says that, should these chemicals work their way into the environment, they can cause health issues having to do with the reproductive, hormonal or immune system.
The clothing and footwear items that Greenpeace tested were manufactured in at least twelve different countries and regions across the world.
What’s more, some of them came from major brands such as American Apparel, C&A, Disney, GAP, H&M, Primark, Uniqlo, Adidas, LiNing, Nike, Puma, and Burberry.
The organization believes that said chemicals ended up in the products tested as part of this investigation due to the fact that they had been used during the manufacturing process.
According to Greenpeace, their presence in kids’ clothing and footwear proves that the fashion industry not only has not yet cut its ties with hazardous chemicals, but that the latter’s use is more widespread than most people think it to be.
Commenting on these findings, Chih An Lee, Detox Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, said that, “This is a nightmare for parents everywhere looking to buy clothes for their children that don’t contain hazardous chemicals.”
Furthermore, “These chemical ‘little monsters’ can be found in everything from exclusive luxury designs to budget fashion, polluting our waterways from Beijing to Berlin. For the sake of current and future generations brands should stop using these monsters.”