Dirty fashion | New report reveals top brands buying from factories that are damaging the environment

This report shines a spotlight on the environmental and human health impacts caused by the rapidly expanding viscose industry. It presents evidence from the top three viscose producing countries in Asia, showing how the environment, lives and livelihoods are being ruined by the dangerous chemicals and noxious gases its production generates. 

The report tracks the supply chain and establishes direct links between the polluting factories investigated and major European and North American brands, including H&M, Zara/Inditex, ASOS, Levi's, Tesco, United Colors of Benetton, Burton, Marks & Spencer, Asda, Dockers, Haggar, Next, Debenhams, Matalan and Van Heusen (Source: press release)

"Viscose pollution has been increasingly linked to the development of cancer and birth defects due to the presence of carbon disulphide, which the report claims has stopped entire villages from using their local water supply. Increasing business fatalities are also on the rise as apparent viscose pollution has severely damaged the local fishing industry in Indonesia, China and India" (Source: ecotextile).

Brands can play a key role in this process by demanding that viscose companies clean up their act and by offering them support in transitioning towards more sustainable production processes. The good news is that viscose production methods already exist, which do not rely on the abundant use of toxic chemicals and bring manufacturing into a ‘closed loop’ so that the chemicals which are used do not escape into the environment.

CONTINUE READING ON changingmarkets.org