Global: A Toxic-Free Future Won't Happen Overnight, But We Are Already Seeing A Shift In How The Industry Deals With This Critical Issue

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Global: A Toxic-Free Future Won't Happen Overnight, But We Are Already Seeing A Shift In How The Industry Deals With This Critical Issue

Greenpeace's Detox campaign got a number of apparel brands to begin the ZDHC group. How do you view progress of this roadmap group, which is expected to clean up global supply chains in the next six years?

When it was set up, the ZDHC Roadmap had great potential - it created a space for brands to work together to help bring about real change in the textile industry in its approach to hazardous chemicals. Unfortunately, so far, it has failed to live up to this potential. Last year Greenpeace released the Detox Catwalk to evaluate the brands and companies that made Detox commitments, including ZDHC members. The Catwalk revealed how a number of influential members of the ZDHC like Nike were lowering the ambition level and holding back the rest of the industry.

Greenpeace urges the group to step up and fulfil its potential by becoming a Detox leader in ensuring a toxic-free future, for example by advocating for the public disclosure of supply chain discharges. Recently, ZDHC member Adidas took a great step in the right direction by committing to have 99% of its products PFC-free by the end of 2017. The global sports brand also agreed to come clean about the release of hazardous chemicals in our rivers - by publishing 80% of its supply chain discharge data by mid-2016.

How has the Detox campaign progressed? How did brands react to the Greenpeace report on achievers and losers?

Supported by the collective action of activists, fashionistas and consumers around the world, the Detox campaign has made a lot of progress over the past three years. Twenty global fashion companies (Puma, Nike, Adidas, Li Ning, H&M, C&A, Marks&Spencer, Zara, Levi's, Esprit, Fast Retailing, Coop, Limited Brands, Mango, Benetton, Valentino, G-Star, Canepa, Burberry and Primark) have now committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals from their supply chain and many are implementing their commitments, taking steps to ensure on-the-ground change.

Following the release of the Detox Catwalk and our most recent report, Adidas has agreed to get back on track with further commitments to help it reach its public promise to be toxic-free by 2020.

This victory shows that we not only expect brands to commit but also to follow through with credible actions to help us create the toxic-free future we need. Adidas' recent commitment sends a clear message to the rest of the textile industry-don't risk getting left behind and join the leaders acting to ensure our rivers and our lives are free from hazardous chemicals.

To what extent are brands acknowledging Detox campaign as a proactive measure, and not a nuisance?

Whilst some, such as GAP, continue to ignore the need for change, many brands have shown a real willingness to work with Greenpeace to help create a toxic-free future. The Detox Catwalk assessed the progress being made by committed companies.

We found some brands were acting as 'Leaders', taking concrete steps towards their Detox commitments by laying out clear timelines and delivering results towards the goal of achieving zero discharges by 2020. Working with Greenpeace, brands like Uniqlo and Mango are acting with responsibility and accountability towards their customers and the impacted communities. They are also setting an example for the rest of the industry and showing that change is not only possible, but also necessary.

A toxic-free future won't happen overnight but, thanks to global pressure and people power, we are already seeing a shift in how the industry deals with this critical issue. For example, brands like H&M and Mango are well advanced in their goal to eliminate perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) from their supply chain.

Their immediate action has stopped the release of these persistent chemicals into the environment from their products and production processes.

Textile production happens in Asia - China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, etc. What campaigns is Greenpeace planning to ensure clean production practices in the industries of these countries?

The Detox commitments we ask from the brands apply to their whole supply chain and this includes manufacturing facilities in countries such as India, China or Bangladesh.

A commitment to Detox should start with the disclosure of what chemicals these facilities are discharging into the local waterways via the credible and public IPE platform [http://www.ipe.org.cn/en/pollution/discharge_detox.aspx]. Companies should then take steps to phase out of the priority hazardous chemicals in their entire supply chain.

The textile industry is one of the biggest sources of waste industrial water in production centres like China and it also contributes to the accumulation of hazardous chemicals in our global environment.

Brands have the responsibility and the power to change the way their supply chain operates and deliver on the ground results for impacted communities. Only by working together can we stop this global toxic water pollution scandal.

Even after so many years of Detox and ZDHC, in India, except for a handful of textile companies, many players in the value chain are unaware of the buyers' goals, or prefer to find ways around it, especially when sub-contracting still remains beyond the purview of social and environmental codes. How can Greenpeace address this?

One approach does not exclude the other. Shifting to a clean technology naturally brings with it safer working conditions. While there is no direct link between eliminating sub-contracts and cleaning up production, a greater focus on Corporate Responsibility could lead to improvements in social and environmental standards.

By driving this change towards different modes of production, led by global brands, we hope this will be the catalyst for an industry wide shift in the approach to the way our clothes are made.

What is the vision of the Detox campaign?

When we began the Detox campaign three years ago we encountered a textile industry that was broken and in need of a radical shake-up. Hazardous chemical use was widespread, supply chain transparency was a major issue and the true story behind how our clothes are made was hidden from most consumers.

As the campaign progressed we saw how hundreds of thousands of people, from designers to industry insiders, joined the movement calling for cleaner fashion - a message these global brands couldn't ignore. We also saw how industry has the potential to create wider change and how many of our world's favourite brands took up the challenge to help us bring about this shift to another, cleaner, greener way.

Though the commitments and actions of brands like luxury label Burberry or high street chain Mango are signs of real progress towards stemming this global problem, we still have a long way to go.

We dream of a future where hazardous chemical use becomes a thing of the past, where supply chain transparency and the use of the precautionary principle become an industry norm, where governments back strong chemical legislation and we curb the toxic-water pollution scandal.

Of course, Greenpeace can't do it alone. Only with the support of the growing global movement alongside progressive steps by the textile industry and governments can we make the toxic-free future a reality.