I was just inspired to bring up an issue that maybe not many people are aware of. I was reading HiFashion and I was reminded of my environmental science class where I made a report on textiles and their effect in our world, I have been wanting to post this and well today is the day.
We all like great bargains and deals, just like big businesses who are creating products to sell to us, when designers and product developers are searching for fabrics and contacting mills they always want a better cheaper price, so these mills located oversees, particularly in China, are obligated to find a way to keep prices lower, make a profit, and not lose customers.
This was the case of Fountin Sets' Faun Textiles in Dongguam China where athorities found that the mill was dumping 22,000 tons of untreated water from dyeing operations into a nearby river DAILY, villagers had been complaining to athorities about the conditions in the river. Some villagers mentioned how the state of the river has changed ever since the mill opened its doors in 1989. The water isn't safe for fishing or drinking and is a threat to agriculture, which is how these poor villagers make their living.
Mr. Lam's Pacific Textiles is another mill that was found to be dumping conatminated water into a nearby river in China, but what they did to "hide" the evidence (the colored water) was getting employees on boats to dump dye neutralizer in the river to change the color from red to brown.
Dyes and the dye neutralizer severly damage rivers ecosystem since they have a high biological oxygen demand, which results in organisims in or near the river not being able to survive because of the loss of oxygen. This results in a chain of problems that are especially effecting villagers.
So, you want to know some of the brands that where purchasing from these mills?
Gap Inc.
Target Corp.
Tommy Hilfigre Corp.
Reebok
Nike
Liz Claiborne
and Wal Mart
Nike was the only one to respond and have evidence that they where monitoring the mill and taking water samples, which where done by the mill so it was not sure if they interfered with the samples.
This is what happens when apparel companies are out to get the best bargains and deals, and then we are the ones purchsing from their stores and possible supporting such activity and damage being done to the environment. Faun Textiles was saving over $35,000 a year by directly dumping the water and not treating it.
Chinas water pollution laws are becoming stronger and with the help of villagers, authorities are able to point source the pollution and fine the mills and have them fix their problem.
What do guys think about this?
xoxo anna
[WSJ]
