Beijing, September 20, 2011: H&M, the world's second largest clothing retail brand, has publicly committed to eliminating the use of all toxic chemicals in its supply chain and products by 2020.
. This is the first time since the international environmental organization Greenpeace released “The Poison of Fashion –” in July.
After the "China Water Pollution Survey of Global Apparel Brands", this is the fourth brand to respond to the call for a "toxic-free future". At the same time, Greenpeace urges other brands such as Li Ning to make similar commitments as soon as possible to detoxify China's rivers.
Zhang Kai, director of Greenpeace's pollution prevention and control project, said: "Greenpeace welcomes H&M's positive commitment, which marks another big step forward in our action to "detoxify China's rivers." In addition, H&M also recognizes the importance of disclosing pollution information. This will help the public and suppliers effectively monitor the progress of enterprises in eliminating toxic and harmful substances.”
Greenpeace members launched simultaneous actions last Wednesday in 12 countries around the world, including Hong Kong, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey, and posted the words "Tox-free Future" and "Detoxify China's Rivers" on H&M's on the windows of retail stores, and launched an online campaign to convey the public’s demands to H&M management.
H&M promised to announce a specific action plan within 8 weeks to achieve the goal of zero discharge of toxic chemicals by 2020 based on the "precautionary" principle. H&M also proposed to disclose information on the use and discharge of toxic chemicals by its suppliers once a year. The first information will be released no later than the end of 2012 or before.
Zhang Kai continued: "The commitments of H&M, Adidas, Puma and Nike fully prove that it is feasible to completely eliminate toxic chemicals. If other brands such as Li Ning still fail to make non-toxic commitments, disclose environmental information and accept public supervision, Then they will fall far behind in the race to protect the environment, thereby disappointing the consumers who support them.”
Greenpeace released the investigative report "The Poison of Fashion - An Investigation into China's Water Pollution by Global Apparel Brands" in July this year.
. The report pointed out that the industrial wastewater discharged by two suppliers in China of many well-known international and domestic clothing brands such as Adidas, Nike, and Li Ning contains environmental chemicals that can disrupt endocrine and affect the reproductive system.
Elemental substances. Last month, Greenpeace released another report, "Poison Hidden in Clothing—A Survey of Toxic and Hazardous Substance Residues in Global Brand Clothing."
pointed out that the products of these well-known international and domestic brands contain the environmental hormone "nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether" NPE.
After the release of the report, many consumers and volunteers joined Greenpeace's "detoxification" campaign, calling on brands to actively commit and change. Zhang Kai said: "Greenpeace will continue to work closely with global consumers to
Pay attention to and supervise the follow-up actions of brands such as H&M, Adidas, Puma and Nike, and urge other brands to make non-toxic commitments as soon as possible and take practical actions immediately. "
Source: Greenpeace (2011-09-20)
