Puma

International fast-fashion retailer C&A has just joined with China’s biggest sportswear company, Li-Ning, and Adidas, Nike, Puma and H&M to launch a Joint Roadmap to begin tackling the fashion industry’s toxic pollution problem.

This year our Detox campaign exposed the direct link between global clothing brands, their suppliers, and toxic water pollution around the world. The Joint Roadmap is an important step forward, and a reminder of what public pressure can achieve.

Tommy Crawford, communications manager on the Detox campaign, reveals the latest success story in getting clothing brands to ditch toxic chemicals.

As fashion-lovers around the world ponder over which clothes to add to their Christmas wishlists, news about a different list linked to the fashion industry has got the Detox team here buzzing. I’m talking about H&M’s Restricted Substance List, a detailed version of which appeared for the first time on the company’s website this month.

As you’ve heard, we’re now seeing a growing wave of clothing companies committing to eliminate toxic chemicals from their production processes. Four major clothing brands have recently come onboard and we’re certain that more companies – and perhaps other industries – will soon stop using hazardous chemicals that currently contaminate the world’s waterways and environment.

There's a skeleton in H&M's closet. The fast-fashion retailer sells clothes made with chemicals which cause hazardous water pollution around the world, and the only way to stop this water pollution is to come clean and stop using such chemicals for good. As one of the largest clothing groups in the world, a H&M committed to a toxic-free future would set a trend for the rest of the fashion industry to follow.

Adidas is going toxic-free, the company has just announced!

This is great news for our environment, rivers, and the millions of people in China and elsewhere who depend on rivers for drinking water and agriculture.