Dear Friends,
Adidas vs Nike: Who'll be Detox Champion and stop toxic pollution of China's rivers?
Adidas and Nike are playing with toxic polluters in China and we need your help to make them step up and meet the Detox Challenge.
Clean freshwater is one of our most precious natural resources. Our very existence literally depends upon it.
Here in the UK we rarely question water being available as soon as we turn on the tap.
However, in China a water crisis is looming. 70% of China’s rivers, lakes and reservoirs are badly polluted. Over 16% of major rivers aren’t clean enough to irrigate crops, according to the Chinese government. On top of this, growing population and the impacts of climate change are leading to serious water shortages.
Greenpeace investigators in China have been researching the sources and impacts of this intense water contamination. They have monitored pollution from factories that line China’s riverbanks, exposing how toxic chemicals used by industry are turning up in food, and the crisis affecting people’s lives.
The investigation has also revealed that major international clothing brands, including the sports giants Adidas and Nike, do business with these polluting facilities.
We’ve just launched the findings of this latest investigation. Dirty Laundry documents how China’s growing textiles industry – the biggest in the world and a heavy user of chemicals – is impacting rivers.
Samples were taken from the outflow pipes of two Chinese textile factories - the Youngor Textile Complex on the Yangtze River Delta, and the Well Dyeing Factory on the Pearl River Delta - at different times over the period of a year
Laboratory testing found the samples contained a cocktail of hazardous chemicals which threaten human health and the environment. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer while other may disrupt hormone systems. And they don't break down in the environment but build up in the bodies of animals and fish to contaminate human food chains. Many of these chemicals are banned or restricted in the EU. But they are still widely used by the textile industry in developing countries such as China, where they remain unrestricted.
We're challenging Adidas and Nike to take a stand against hazardous pollution and champion a toxic-free future. We believe that these giant brands who stress their green credentials, can have a major influence on their supply chains.
Go all in: Watch our video, share it with your friends and tell us which company you think will step up to be the Detox Challenge champion.
Impossible is nothing - please help us forge a Toxic Free Future!
Yours all in,
Gemma Freeman
Adidas vs Nike: Who'll be Detox Champion and stop toxic pollution of China's rivers?
Adidas and Nike are playing with toxic polluters in China and we need your help to make them step up and meet the Detox Challenge.
Clean freshwater is one of our most precious natural resources. Our very existence literally depends upon it.
Here in the UK we rarely question water being available as soon as we turn on the tap.
However, in China a water crisis is looming. 70% of China’s rivers, lakes and reservoirs are badly polluted. Over 16% of major rivers aren’t clean enough to irrigate crops, according to the Chinese government. On top of this, growing population and the impacts of climate change are leading to serious water shortages.
Greenpeace investigators in China have been researching the sources and impacts of this intense water contamination. They have monitored pollution from factories that line China’s riverbanks, exposing how toxic chemicals used by industry are turning up in food, and the crisis affecting people’s lives.
The investigation has also revealed that major international clothing brands, including the sports giants Adidas and Nike, do business with these polluting facilities.
We’ve just launched the findings of this latest investigation. Dirty Laundry documents how China’s growing textiles industry – the biggest in the world and a heavy user of chemicals – is impacting rivers.
Samples were taken from the outflow pipes of two Chinese textile factories - the Youngor Textile Complex on the Yangtze River Delta, and the Well Dyeing Factory on the Pearl River Delta - at different times over the period of a year
Laboratory testing found the samples contained a cocktail of hazardous chemicals which threaten human health and the environment. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer while other may disrupt hormone systems. And they don't break down in the environment but build up in the bodies of animals and fish to contaminate human food chains. Many of these chemicals are banned or restricted in the EU. But they are still widely used by the textile industry in developing countries such as China, where they remain unrestricted.
We're challenging Adidas and Nike to take a stand against hazardous pollution and champion a toxic-free future. We believe that these giant brands who stress their green credentials, can have a major influence on their supply chains.
Go all in: Watch our video, share it with your friends and tell us which company you think will step up to be the Detox Challenge champion.
Impossible is nothing - please help us forge a Toxic Free Future!
Yours all in,
Gemma Freeman
