Greenpeace reveals int'l fashion brands involvement in Indonesian toxic water problem
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E-mail Xinhua, April 17, 2013
International nature conservancy organization Greenpeace revealed on Wednesday that international fashion brands were involved in the dumping of industrial wastewater containing a cocktail of toxic and hazardous chemicals, and caustic water, directly into the Citarum River, West Java.
Greenpeace pointed out that those brands, including Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, were linked to the pollution through their direct business relations with Indonesian garment and apparel producer PT Gistex Group, which has been identified as the company behind the polluting facility.
"Gap's latest advertising campaign declares that we should 'Be Bright', but by collaborating with toxic suppliers, Gap's clothes are turning the Citarum into a multi-colored mess. Gap and other big brands need to work with their suppliers in Indonesia and elsewhere to urgently eliminate all uses of hazardous chemicals from their supply chains and products before it is too late," Ashov Birry, Toxic-Free Water Campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia, said in a statement sent to Xinhua.
In a report entitled "Toxic Threads: Polluting Paradise" published on Wednesday, Greenpeace reveals in details how the PT Gistex facility has taken advantage of a system that requires little transparency about its activities and where inadequate laws are failing to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals.
Other international firms linked to the PT Gistex Group include Brooks Brothers which has outfitted 39 of the 44 American presidents, including Barack Obama Marubeni Corporation, Adidas Group and H&M.
A wide range of hazardous substances, including nonylphenol and tributyl phosphate, were identified in the water samples taken from the PT Gistex facility's discharge outfalls. Many of these chemicals are toxic, while some have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties.
Greenpeace investigations also revealed wastewater from one of the smaller outfalls to be extremely alkaline or "caustic" (pH 14), indicating that this wastewater had not received even the most basic treatment before discharge.
"People living along this river, who rely upon its water, have a right to know what is being released into it, and the customers of the international brands like Gap have a right to know what chemicals are being used to make their clothes," Birry added.
The textile industry is currently one of the major contributors to industrial toxic water pollution in West Java, with 68 percent of industrial facilities on the Upper Citarum producing textiles.
Greenpeace's Detox campaign demands fashion brands commit to zero discharge of all hazardous chemicals by 2020 and work with their suppliers around the world to disclose all releases of hazardous chemicals from their facilities to communities at the site of the water pollution.
Launched in July 2011, the campaign has already convinced 17 international brands including Valentino, Levi's and Zara to commit to Detox, mobilizing over a half million activists, fashion enthusiasts, bloggers and designers united by a belief that beautiful fashion needn't cost the Earth. Endi
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