Clothing & Textile Information
From cotton to animal deprived and synthetic fibers, many of the textiles used today, are the cause of many environmental issues, the mistreat of animals and they are even poisoning us?
An new report from Greenpeace International looked into the hazardous chemicals used in the production of high street fashion. It exposed textile manufacturing facilities that are using toxic chemicals and were contributing to water pollution, the investigation was expanded to include 20 global fashion brands including Armani, Levi’s and Zara.
The brands in this study (see below) included some “fast fashion” brands, who due to the increasing demand, they are delivering new fashion trends in increasingly short cycles. This is made possible by pressuring suppliers to deliver to ever-tighter deadlines, which encourages irresponsible practices and the cutting of corners in terms of environmental and labour costs.
Around 80 billion garments are produced worldwide, the equivalent of just over 11 garments a year for every person on the planet. The increased volumes of clothing being made, sold, and thrown away magnifies the human and environmental costs of our clothes at every stage of their life cycle. Even the apparently small, quantities of a hazardous chemical such as NPEs, which are legally allowed in clothing, cumulatively amount to the widespread dispersal of damaging chemicals across the planet.
Leading fashion brands:
Benetton Group (owner of the Benetton brand),
Bestseller A/S (owner of the Jack & Jones, Only and Vero Moda brands),
Blažek Prague Inc (owner of the Blažek brand),
Cofra Holding AG (owner of the C&A brand),
Diesel SpA (owner of the Diesel brand),
Esprit Holdings Ltd (owner of the Esprit brand),
Gap Inc (owner of the Gap brand),
Giorgio Armani SpA (owner of the Armani brand),
Hennes & Mauritz AB (owner of the H&M brand),
Inditex (owner of the Zara brand),
Levi Strauss & Co (owner of the Levi’s brand),
Limited Brands (owner of the Victoria’s Secret brand),
Mango Group (owner of the Mango brand),
Marks & Spencer Group Plc (owner of the Marks & Spencer brand),
Metersbonwe Group (owner of the Metersbonwe brand),
PVH Corp (owner of the Calvin Klein and Tommy
Hilfiger brands), and
VANCL (owner of the Vancl brand).
Chemicals in our clothes?
Would you ever have considered that little black dress could put your body at risk for cancer? Unlike the nutrition facts on the back of our favorite foods, clothing doesn’t come with a conveniently itemized list of ingredients. Instead the 8,000 synthetic chemicals used in fashion manufacturing, most of which contain known carcinogens and hormone disruptors, are kept undisclosed and hiding within the fibers of the industry’s most sought out styles.
However, regulations existing in the beauty and home-cleaning industries, the fashion industry's regulations are notoriously lax. The regulations on clothing retailers is to share only fiber content, country of origin, and the identity of the manufacturer on labels. They are not required to disclose any of the chemicals used in the production process, even though by some estimates there are upward of 250 "restricted substances" used in textile manufacturing that pose potential health concerns. Let's take a look at some of the most common ones:
Our bodies: High levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals from cosmetics, flame-retardants from clothing and furniture, even long-banned substances like DDT and lead, are consistently showing up in human blood samples.
1. Azo dyes
There are many varieties of chemical dyes used on clothing, with azo dyes being one of the most common. They are one of the most commonly used colorants in the textile industry, azo dyes are what give your clothes their vibrant coloring. When put on the washing machine the dyes leak colour into the water which then pollutes our water. It can also rub off onto your body and be absorbed into your skin! This can cause a host of health issues as prolonged exposure to these harsh chemicals has been shown to cause allergic contact dermatitis and even cancer.
These dyes have been found to be carcinogenic in high enough levels, and governments like Australia have considered banning them altogether.
What’s worse, clothing factories around the world are also dumping their dye-riddled wastewater into nearby rivers, contaminating the groundwater and polluting the surrounding environment.
2. NPEs
Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are a class of organic compounds found in the majority of our clothing. NPE is commonly found in industrial detergents used for washing textiles. Besides being associated with reproductive and developmental risks in rodents, they also have widespread environmental effects and are highly toxic to aquatic life, according to the EPA.
3. Formaldehyde and phthalates
Formaldehyde is contained in all sorts of household objects, such as building materials, furniture, shampoos and cosmetics. It is widely used in the textile industry to impart products with “non-destructive” properties, it also helps to avoid the accumulation of bacteria and fungus in the folds of clothing during transport.
Formaldehyde is a known respiratory and skin irritant that is sometimes used to make clothes wrinkle-resistant. Phthalates are endocrine disrupters that have been used to make fashion that incorporates plastic like shoes and gloves and in the decorative printing process.
4. Metals
Metals are ubiquitous in the textile production process, and one study found 20 different ones in clothes of all different styles and materials. These metals don't presenhealth risks at low doses, but high concentrations of them can be seriously dangerous.
Lead
Manufacturers prefer to use lead for dyeing fabrics, and most often it is found in brightly colored products. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, excessive lead exposure can affect the state of the whole body. And since there are no obvious signs of its harmful effects, this is often overlooked. According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, lead poisoning in children under 6 years of age can seriously affect their mental and physical development.
Clothing that features metal accessories is another potential concern. After ASOS discovered that a line of its metal-studded belts was radioactive in 2013, the brand released a statement saying, "Unfortunately, this incident is quite a common occurrence. India and the Far East are large consumers of scrap metal for their home and foreign markets. During the refining process of these metals, orphaned radioactive sources are sometimes accidentally melted at the same time. This in turn [contaminates the process] and traps the radioactivity in the metal as an alloy or in suspension."
Now to a something that will concern parents of young children. In a quirky titled report on a very serious issue, Greenpeace says "toxic monsters" may be lurking in your children's closets. The environmental campaign group says some top fashion brands are using hazardous
Cotton
Did you know that it takes upwards of 10,000 liters of water to produce one pair of jeans? Cotton requires copious volumes of water for irrigation, bleaching, dying, printing, and all the other stages of production. What’s more, large quantities of water and chemicals such as pesticides are used in the production of fibers like cotton, while waste-water discharges containing toxic chemicals can enter public waterways and prove fatal for fish.
Animals Deprived Fibers
Humans have used leather, wool and fur for years and billions of animals are brutally slaughtered each year for the clothing industry. Mass production of fur and leather items has created a cruel system of farming, trapping, and skinning and, has sparked uproar among animal rights activists.
Billions of animals are slaughtered and processed each year, for the “Fashion Industry”. Whether we’re speaking of leather, fur, wool, feathers/down, or silk, animals are “ranched”/raised, trapped, mutilated and killed under some of the most horrific conditions imaginable, in order to produce the clothing and accessories that most of us wear. These animals lead miserable, short, tortured lives about which the average consumer has little awareness or knowledge.
It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that animal fashion products began to be mass produced. Around this time, fur gained its status as a luxury good and as a result, fur farming began. By creating fur farms, it was a way that fur producers could guarantee sufficient stock. It wasn’t until the 1960s that fur began to receive a negative connotation.
More detailed:
Leather
Leather can be made from cows, pigs, goats, and sheep even dogs and cats, who are slaughtered for their meat and skin. There are different processes to produce different finishes for many applications, i.e., upholstery, footwear, automotive products, accessories, and clothing.
Because leather is normally not labeled, you never really know where (or whom) it came from.
Many steer clear from leather for its negative impact on animals. What doesn’t get much air time are the many toxic chemicals it takes to tan leather. Tanning is the process that converts the animal skin into leather and 90% of the leather goods you’ll find in stores today has been tanned with chromium.
Bangladesh’s leather industry is worth a billion dollars a year, but that value comes at a significant human cost to the many workers employed in the country’s leather tanneries. The process of tanning leather hides is highly toxic. Workers face appalling conditions and are exposed to dangerous chemicals that also pollute surrounding waterways.
Although vegetable tanning is a natural option, tanning with chromium speeds up the process, creates a thinner and softer leather than veggie-tanned and can be dyed in a multitude of colors. Despite aforementioned perks, chromium contributes to some gnarly health effects. For those in the tanneries, workers can experience everything from rashes, permanent skin bleaching, nosebleeds and respiratory problems to lung cancer and the alteration of genetic material.
Kanpur, India is known for its leather industry, but it has come at the expense of its citizens and environment. Some tanning plants dump large amounts of chemicals into their surroundings, causing pollution, sickness and fatalities
Tanneries, like this one in Kanpur, are a vital part of India's leather textiles industry. In 2009, India produced 8 percent of the world's leather.
Workers in many leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh neighborhood of Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, including children as young as 11, become ill because of exposure to hazardous chemicals and are injured in horrific workplace accidents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The tanneries, which export hundreds of millions of dollars in leather for luxury goods throughout the world, spew pollutants into surrounding communities.
Fur
Over 50 million animals are raised and killed each year on filthy fur farms that continue to exist in Finland, Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Canada and in China which is today, probably the largest and cruelest exporter of cheap fur pelts (dogs, cats, rabbits) in the world.
Majority of minks, foxes, and other animals used for their fur are now raised on fur farms. The conditions on fur farms have been compared to those on animal farms used for meat production. Almost all the animals are born and die on the farm. The animals are kept within small cages that prohibit movement almost all day. Being confined to small cages does not only have physical effects on the animals, but mental effects as well. Animals generally don’t fare well in confinement and suffer from stress and nervousness.
There is no federal law regulating the keeping or killing of cage-raised fur-bearing animals.
The truth will shock you.
Furs and animal skins are back in fashion, and are being transformed by top designers into accessories and clothes at jaw-dropping prices. But what do those who buy clothes and accessories made from fur and exotic animal skins know about where they come from? Reggie Yates went to Russia, to find out more about its fur industry. There he was given rare access to a Siberian fur farm, where sable - which provide one of the world's most sought-after animal skins - are bred. There were other animals too, all in small cages and many of them clearly in distress.
Most of the mink fur imported into Switzerland comes from Denmark. Swiss public television, visits some of the fur factory farms and uncovers the conditions under which the animals are kept.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Over seven months, 30 fur farms, seven hours of footage and one and a half thousand photographs, Animal Defenders International investigated a random sample of Finnish fur farms. This investigation exposes the terrible suffering that is part and parcel of the fur industry.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Where does fur come from? How is it acquired? In part one of this mini-series we’ll explore the cruelty in the fur industry, looking at conventional fur farms and also the wild animals that are killed for their fur - and the environmental and ethical impacts of this outdated fashion choice.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
You'll never look at a down jacket or duvet in the same way after watching this shocking video, which shows how birds are "live-plucked" over and over again on Chinese farms that are connected to major international brands. Terrified birds struggle and cry out in pain as workers rip out their feathers. Eyewitnesses also saw sick and injured chicks abandoned to a slow and prolonged death.
Wool
There is a big debate going on regarding wool. Many say that animals don’t get harmed while sheared, and that is only natural and beneficial for the sheep to shed their winter coats. But, It depends!
But with complex supply chains, how can we know that the animals that provide us with wool are treated well.
The first thing is to be aware of where the wool is sourced from. Many fast fashion brands you support cruel, intensive sheep farms since the supply chain demands cheap sources of textile.
Some of the cruel practices on those farms include painful shearing, animals are kept in very close quarters, and have selectively bred to produce thick heavy coats. Shearers are usually paid by volume, not by the hour, which encourages fast work without regard for the welfare of the sheep.
However, not all wool is bad. It is a much better alternative to synthetic fibers for example. When buying wool, look for standards and certifications that ensure the fair treatment of animals and the respect of the environment, such as the Responsible Wool Standard, ZQ Merino Standard and the Soil Association Organic Standards.
You can look out for clothing made from recycled wool, and of course buying pre-loved or vintage wool items ensures the garment gets a longer useful life.
Silk
Silk is the fiber that silkworms weave to make cocoons. The so-called “silkworm” is actually a domesticated insect who, in nature, goes through the same stages of metamorphosis—egg, larval, pupal, and adult—that all moths do. Silk is derived from the cocoons of larvae, so most of the insects raised by the industry don’t live past the pupal stage, as they are steamed or gassed alive inside their cocoons.
Approximately 3,000 silkworms die to make every pound of silk. While worms can’t show their distress in ways that humans easily recognize, such as screaming, anyone who has ever seen earthworms startle when their dark homes are uncovered must acknowledge that they are sensitive and fear for their lives. They also produce endorphins and have a physical response to pain.
Exotic skins
There are two main factors that make exotic skins more problematic for the public than their bovine counterparts. First, there is a large difference between how people view skins that are considered a by-product of the meat industry and those that are solely used for fashion. The snakes, alligators, crocodiles, and other reptiles who are killed for their skins suffer immensely.
Second, the supply chain for exotic skins can get murky as many of these products originate from countries that have a much more lax standard for animal welfare than North America or Europe. Even though brands do take care and do adhere to guidelines, it’s almost impossible to know for sure where they really came from. Brands don’t want to have a scandal on their hands so rather than take the risk, it’s easier to stop using them.
Synthetic
Man-made fully synthetic fibers are produced by reactions of oil-based products that produce polymer pellets (plastic). These pellets are purchased from the pellet manufacturers (such as ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, etc.) by the fiber manufacturer. The polymer pellets are then heated to transform the polymer into a liquid or fluid state.
Some of the most used synthetic fibers are:
Nylon
Nylon clothes and similar products are made from strands of plastic yarn. They are made by melting nylon chips that once liquify, are forced through the fine holes of a nozzle called a spinneret. As the liquid emerges from the holes, it is cooled down so that it solidifies to form tiny threads. These threads are woven together to make fabric.
Rayon
Rayon is one of the most peculiar fabrics in commercial use to date. It is not 100% artificial because it is extracted from naturally occurring cellulose. It is not, however, a natural fabric, because cellulose requires extensive processing to become rayon. It is usually classified as a manufactured fiber and considered a regenerated type of cellulose.
Polyester
There are many variations of polyesters, but the most popular is polyethylene terephthalate or PET. To turn polyester into fibers, the plastic is heated and forced through spinnerets. The fibers are stretched to five times their length, typically combined into yarn, and then knitted or weaved into polyester fabrics.
Polyester is one of the most popular types of synthetic fabrics because of its profound durability. It retains its shape, is resistant to most chemicals, rarely suffers from stretching, shrinking and wrinkling, and is mildew and abrasion resistant. It is also hydrophobic in nature which makes it easy to wash and dry.
Spandex
Spandex is a lightweight, synthetic fabric with unique properties that make it suitable for sports apparel. The fabric can expand up to 600% and spring back without losing its integrity. Over time, the fibers do tend to become exhausted due to heavy wear and tear. Unlike many other synthetic fabrics, spandex is a polyurethane, which is responsible for its peculiarly elastic qualities.
Acrylic
Wool is a type of natural fiber resourced from sheep shearings. However, as time progresses, many have been less keen on wearing an animal behind their backs to keep warm. Acrylic, on the other hand, is purely synthetic and closely resembles the characteristics of wool.
Acrylic fiber consists of acrylonitrile and a comonomer. The comonomer is added to improve its dyeability and textile processability.
Acetate
Acetate is often a replacement for shiny, soft, and luxurious fabrics. It is commonly used to make drapes, curtains, and other home decor items, along with being used for clothing and furniture linings.
Are our clothes polluting the ocean?
A report from the National Center of Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, California on the Earth Island report, states that every time a synthetic garment — that is, anything made from the synthetic fiber mentioned above– goes through the spin and rinse cycle in a washing machine, it sheds a large number of plastic fibers. In another report, published in Environmental Science & Technology is stating that one single synthetic garment can produce more than 1,900 microfibres per wash.
Additionally, recent studies have found microfibers from petroleum-based synthetic fabrics like nylon, acrylic and polyester in 83% of the world’s drinking water. A single polyester fleece jacket could shed as many as 1,900 of these tiny fibers each time it was washed.
Most washing machines don’t have filters to trap these miniscule microfibers, and neither do sewage plants that are responsible for removing contaminants. So every time the water drains from a washing machine, plastic filaments are swept through the sewers and eventually end up in the ocean.
Solutions
Choose natural materials
Unlike synthetics, natural materials like organic cotton, linen, silk, wool and hemp allow the body to breath, detox and regulate body temperature properly. Natural fibers are also naturally biodegradable and can be composted, while synthetics don’t break down and can live in landfills for hundreds of years. As mentioned above, when you choose wool or silk,make sure to support sustainable brands that are transparent with their practices.
Billions of animals are slaughtered and processed each year, for the “Fashion Industry”. Whether we’re speaking of leather, fur, wool, feathers/down, or silk, animals are “ranched”/raised, trapped, mutilated and killed under some of the most horrific conditions imaginable, in order to produce the clothing and accessories that most of us wear.
If you’re still “hooked” on leather and other animal-produced clothing products, it’s time to think about the suffering that animals are forced to endure for that fur-trimmed jacket or silk tie; for that cashmere/wool sweater or that down jacket you’re thinking of buying. Many alternative, cruelty-free options exist that are beautiful, comfortable, durable, and far less expensive. In fact, the market is flooded with copies of high-end designer handbags, scarves, jackets, shoes and other products, most of which are attractive, synthetic look-alikes.
Many European countries, recognizing the inherent cruelty of raising wild animals in captivity for their fur, have taken steps to restrict or ban out-right the inhumane practice of fur farming
1. Prioritize natural materials.
When buying new clothes, look for ones that are as close to natural as possible. That means more organic cottons and wools and fewer synthetics like polyester and nylon. Steer clear of claims like "wrinkle-free" and "stain-resistant" to ensure that nothing is being added to your clothes that you don't want there.
2. Wash them well with natural detergent.
Washing your clothes before their first wear can't be a bad idea, and it's something a lot of dermatologists actually recommend to protect against allergic contact dermatitis.
3. Do your research and avoid fast fashion.
Research a brand's manufacturing process before making a purchase, and ask for more information when you have questions. Prioritize companies that are transparent about their production, and remember that you get what you buy: You can't sell a $5 T-shirt without cutting quite a few corners along the way.
What do you do regarding making more sustainable clothing choices? By tagging us with #theconsciouschallenge you can share your ideas!
Want to contribute to our Ecological Footprint Bible? Submit us your scientific articles! Mail us at info@theconsciouschallenge.org
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