HAMBURG – A new report released today from Greenpeace claims that in the seven years since it first launched its Detox campaign, fashion companies who have signed up to its demands have made ‘significant progress’ to reduce their use of hazardous chemicals in supply chains.
However, the environmental action group also cautions that 85 per cent of the textile industry is still not doing enough on hazardous chemicals and it calls for the textile chemical sector to be more transparent on formulations, and for policy-makers to step in to develop and launch a worldwide industry ‘detox’ standard.
In light of the rapidly approaching phase-out deadline of 2020, we asked Greenpeace if this was probably as far as the Detox campaign could go on the removal of hazardous substances in the textile sector without government regulation.
Kirsten Brodde, project lead Detox my Fashion told us: “Only policies can secure in the long term what we achieved by commitment and extend it to the whole industry. Local regulations are required to tackle specific hazardous substances such as APEs which are identified as a remaining problem in the supply chain of Detox committed companies, or to set wastewater standards that will reflect the best practice. Global mechanisms should enforce due diligence in the supply chain with high standards embedding the Detox achievements – we don't have to wait for a global UN agreement, this could be championed right now by EU legislation.”
