Greenpeace's Detox ranking showcases the progress made by fashion brands that have joined the campaign to eliminate the use of toxic substances by 2020.
For many years the textile and clothing industry exploited the environment and, above all, the waterways near production facilities as genuine open-air rubbish dumps, discharging non-biodegradable toxic substances into them. The absence of effective laws and regulations also contributed to this.
Since 2011, Greenpeace, through its Detox my fashion campaign, has been working to raise awareness of environmental issues within the fashion world. Specifically, its aim is to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the production facilities of those brands that have joined the initiative by 2020.
Now in its third edition, the Detox catwalk is a ranking that records the progress made by a number of fashion brands. The assessment is based on three criteria: the plan to eliminate toxic substances by 2020; the substitution of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), used to make garments water-repellent, with safer alternatives; and transparent reporting on chemical discharges into water by their suppliers. Based on Greenpeace's analysis, the fashion brands featured in the ranking have been divided into three categories: frontrunners, the fashion changers and tailenders.
This division includes all those companies that have signed up to Greenpeace's programme and are leading the entire sector towards a toxic-free future, meeting deadlines with the utmost seriousness.
The title of most deserving brand in the Detox ranking goes to the Inditex group (which includes Zara, Bershka and Stradivarius), with a number of exemplary practices: it has kept its commitment to eliminating PFCs from its products by replacing them with other materials (for which, however, risk factors have not yet been drawn up); it has drafted a clear and comprehensive plan that includes a gradual phase-out of chemicals from production, monitored on an ongoing basis through the analysis of wastewater prior to purification treatment; and, finally, it has required all its suppliers to publish data on the release of toxic substances in wastewater to ensure maximum transparency.
This division of the Detox ranking features companies that are moving towards eco-sustainable fashion, but need to speed up in order to achieve all the targets set for 2020.
The overall trajectory of these brands is reflected in the partial progress made in eliminating PFCs and other hazardous chemicals, as required by the Zero discharge of hazardous chemicals programme. What is still missing, however, is a corporate plan establishing a clean factory approach aimed at total elimination by 2020.
This division includes all those companies that have signed up to the commitment but have yet to devise an effective action plan that delivers concrete results. These are brands that, to date, have been unable to take responsibility for preventing their supply chains from continuing to pollute the environment with harmful substances.
At present, the international brands that have signed up to the campaign number 78 and, thanks to their commitment to clean, toxic-free fashion, the textile supply chain is also undergoing major change. In Italy, for example, 51 domestic companies — 27 of which are located in the Prato production district — have chosen to follow Greenpeace's programme.
"The commitment made by numerous Italian textile businesses demonstrates that producing while respecting the environment and the health and safety of consumers is already possible and within the market's reach," said Giuseppe Ungherese, head of the pollution campaign at Greenpeace Italia.
