IDEAL – INVESTIGATE
07
How dirty is your laundry? We’re not talking about your Sunday washing but about top fashion labels and sportswear brands that many of us admire and wear. Greenpeace came out with serious results in our latest investigation published in full in the report Dirty Laundry 2. We analyzed clothing samples from 15 household names and 14 of them tested positive for nonylphenol ethoxylate. The word is a mouthful but simply put it’s a chemical that over time breaks down into a toxic compound which can then damage our reproductive systems and is dangerous even at low concentrations. Europe has already banned its use.
Timetable of investigate: Date/Time
Location
1. June 2010 and morning on March 2011
Pipe from Youngor Textile Complex
2. June 2010 and evening on March 2011
Pipe from Youngor Textile Complex
3. Morning on June 2010
Pipe from Well Dyeing Factory Limited
4. Morning on June 2010
Pipe from Well Dyeing Factory Limited
Discharge of effluent was observed
Discharge of effluent was not observed
No effluent was discharged
The colour and the temperature of the wastewater were observed to vary considerably over time.
White and blue foam of wastewater
These are the results from the lab. Date of sample analysis
Analysis by
Evidence from
Results
June 2010
Greenpeace International Research Laboratories
Wastewater from Youngor Textile Complex and Well Dyeing Factory Limited
The chemical analysis found a variety of hazardous substances, including the persistent chemicals nonylphenol and perfluorinated chemicals. They can cause adverse effects on the liver and act as hormone disruptors.
These chemicals not only pose a danger to the areas surrounding the factories where these clothes are made, but also to the countries where these clothes are worn because chemicals can leak from the clothes when they are washed. Which means Hong Kong is also at risk.
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