Greenpeace has produced a video calling for the elimination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), laboratory-made chemicals that have been used for decades in the production of sportswear and outdoor clothing — in particular jackets, trousers and shoes — to make them water-resistant: hydrophobic. The environmental organisation's demand is driven by the fact that these substances are persistent and do not break down for a very long time.

During May and June, volunteers and researchers conducted expeditions to some of the most remote areas on the planet — precisely those we would describe as "unspoilt" — above all mountain locations: Torres del Paine, in Patagonia (Chile); the Altai Mountains (Russia); the Haba Mountains, in the Shangri-La region (China); the Tatra Mountains (Slovakia); the Macun Lakes (Switzerland); and Treriksroset, on the border between Sweden, Finland and Norway. A few weeks ago, an expedition was also organised to Lake Pilato, in the Monti Sibillini national park, between Marche and Umbria, with the collaboration of guides from the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI), Foligno branch. Here, unfortunately, the highest concentrations were found.

"We found traces of PFCs in the snow samples collected at all the locations under investigation," said Giuseppe Ungherese, pollution campaign coordinator at Greenpeace Italy. "It is alarming that these dangerous, persistent pollutants are found even in the most remote places on the planet. Of the 17 compounds detected in all the snow samples analysed, as many as four showed the highest concentrations at Lake Pilato."

pfc, abbigliamento sportivo, outdoor — Greenpeace is calling for the elimination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), laboratory-made chemicals used in the production of sportswear and outdoor clothing

In the wake of the Madrid Statement released on 1 May by more than 200 scientists from 38 countries, Greenpeace is calling on people to sign a manifesto for the elimination of PFCs from all consumer products, and from the clothing sector in particular, because once these substances enter the environment they remain there for a long time and risk polluting it and working their way up the food chain, thereby becoming potentially toxic.

"After the commitment made by some luxury, sportswear and fast-fashion brands, the time has come for the outdoor sector too to decide to clean up its supply chains and the environment from toxic substances, starting with PFCs," declared Chiara Campione, who leads the #DetoxOutdoor campaign. This is, in fact, only the latest stage of Detox, which began in 2011 in an effort to call on multinational clothing and textile industry companies to eliminate substances harmful to health and the environment.

Greenpeace targets PFCs in outdoor clothing. Even when we go to the mountains