Researchers have discovered that clothing sold by some of the most popular ultra-fast fashion brands on the planet, most recently products from SHEIN, TEMU, and AliExpress, contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals. Continuing. Here’s what you need to know and what you can do about it.
Investigating harmful chemicals in ultra-fast fashion
Throughout 2024, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will be conducting regular safety tests on clothing sold online, and the results continue to make the news. SHEIN, TEMU, and AliExpress have been the focus of recent scrutiny, with all criticized for selling products containing dangerous levels of chemicals, with SHEIN shoes containing 428 times the acceptable level of phthalate. Contains acid esters. While these findings made global headlines, toxic chemicals in clothing have long been an issue, and while this report focuses on ultra-fast fashion, everything from flight attendant uniforms to training It is important to note that toxic chemicals have been found in everything from clothing to clothing.
Finding chemicals in fast fashion
Getting back to ultra-fast fashion, these retailers clearly haven’t learned anything when it comes to product safety. A CBC investigation led by environmental chemist Miriam Diamond dating back to 2021 found that some of the planet’s most popular ultra-fast fashion brands were selling toxic chemicals to the public hidden in their clothing and accessories. has become clear.
In the Diamond study, commissioned by Marketplace, researchers tested 38 samples of children’s and adult clothing and accessories. One in five contained worrisome levels of chemicals such as lead, PFAS, and phthalates.
Not surprisingly, SHEIN was one of the worst offenders.
The China-based retail giant was selling infant jackets containing 20 times the amount of lead that Health Canada considers safe for children. Zaful and AliExpress were also found to be selling clothing containing high concentrations of toxic chemicals such as phthalates.
Diamond emphasizes that all of this can have alarming consequences. Toxic chemicals do not wash away, but can leach through clothing and be absorbed into the skin, causing health problems. Research shows that exposure to lead, a neurotoxin, can damage the brain and nervous system and affect growth, development, and behavioral patterns. Children are especially at risk because they tend to forget to wash their hands and bite their sleeves. “[This habit] That’s not uncommon, and in that case a higher dose would be given,” Diamond said.
Research also suggests that phthalates, a group of chemicals commonly used to make plastics more durable, may interfere with reproductive hormones in some people. Diamond explains that certain phthalates have even been linked to an increased risk of childhood asthma.
Why use toxic chemicals in clothing?
If the health effects are so serious, why do some of the world’s biggest fast fashion brands use dangerous chemicals in their clothing?
The children’s jacket has since been removed from SHEIN’s online shelves, as has the jacket that was the focus of a Seoul investigation earlier this year. But while Diamond and her team suspect it may have been used as a pigment, there is no clear explanation as to why so much lead was being sold in children’s clothing. I don’t have an answer.
If you zoom out, one answer is pretty obvious: SHEIN doesn’t really care what’s in its clothes, as long as it’s making a big profit. The retailer is said to be worth about $66 billion, and the company (and indeed the rest of the fast fashion industry, as this is never about one brand) is looking at the company’s valuation. It is a well-known fact that it reached its size by collapsing. ethics.
SHEIN has been accused of labor rights violations in numerous investigations by the Swiss watchdog group Public Eye, including an initial report stating that SHEIN produced clothing in factories with barred windows and no emergency exits. This includes suspicions that Workers reportedly spent 75 hours sewing each week and were only given one day off per month.
The impact of chemical use in fashion is far-reaching
Unfortunately, the use of chemicals in fast fashion is far more insidious than a few isolated incidents where alarming levels of lead and phthalates were used. In fact, we’re pretty used to using chemicals in our clothes. Every item in our wardrobe needs to be dyed, bleached, or treated, all of which require chemicals. Some are more harmful than others.
“[Safer alternatives] It exists,” Diamond says. “Not phthalates, but alternative plasticizers, etc. [SHEIN] If your dye is a source of lead, you may be using other dyes. ”
However, in some cases, the use of chemicals may be necessary to create the material. For example, viscose is used to make dresses, blouses, skirts, etc. In fact, the global market for this material is projected to reach more than $41.48 billion by 2030. But turning wood pulp into fiber requires chemical inputs (and a lot of deforestation).
“Cellulose is treated with many toxic chemicals, including carbon disulfide, which is a powerful solvent,” explains Urska Trunk, campaign manager at the Changing Markets Foundation. The nonprofit organization, which strives to expose irresponsible corporate practices, conducted a thorough investigation into the viscose industry in 2017.
Factory workers and their communities are most vulnerable to illnesses associated with carbon disulfide exposure.
Studies have linked carbon disulfide exposure to a number of serious health conditions, including mental illness, coronary heart disease, and leukemia, Trank explains. Of course, the people most susceptible to these diseases are factory workers and their communities.
In Indonesia, home to more than 5 million garment workers, some people living near viscose factories have been forced to stop drinking water from local wells. “They’re afraid of affecting the health of their families, especially their children,” Trunk said.
“In India, people in areas surrounding factories suffer from serious health conditions such as cancer, tuberculosis, reproductive problems, birth defects and stomach diseases,” she added.
Viscous chemicals are not only harmful to humans, but also an environmental nightmare, leaching into water and contaminating the surrounding air and soil around factories.
How can we limit the use of chemicals?
Brands need to take more responsibility. It’s that simple.
Christian Hardiman, Head of Ratings at Good on You, urges brands to work to reduce the use of harmful chemicals in all materials in line with the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL). is recommended.
Published by Roadmap to Zero, a program aimed at eliminating harmful chemicals from fashion, the ZDHC MRSL is a list of chemicals that are prohibited from intentional use in the industry.
“Brands can join the Roadmap to Zero and implement the use of ZDHC MRSL,” Hardiman explains. “This requires suppliers to comply with the list.” Phthalates are included in the ZDHC MRSL, as are azo dyes (often used to color textiles) and heavy metals such as chromium VI. I am. The latter is often used for leather tanning. It is hematotoxic, genotoxic, carcinogenic, and is the most commonly found contaminant in groundwater.
Unfortunately, chemicals are probably one of the most greenwashed issues. For some brands, this is done out of simplicity, while for others it is more malicious.
Christian Hardiman – Head of Ratings
However, the issue is complex. Good On You is committed to increasing transparency to consumers by examining the brand’s processes for monitoring chemical use and worker safety. But “unfortunately, it’s probably one of the most greenwashed issues when it comes to chemicals,” Hardiman acknowledged. “For some brands, this is done out of simplicity, while for others it’s more malicious.”
Brands can also gloss over this issue by claiming that their products are tested for harmful substances. Alternatively, you can claim compliance with Europe’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) or California’s similar Proposition 65 listing.
While this may seem acceptable to the consumer, it is not so simple. “In most of these cases, the focus is on testing the final product for chemicals that are harmful to human health rather than environmental health,” Hardiman says. “Our methodology gives us a very small reward, but we still don’t think this is particularly meaningful.”
“Meaningful action in the Good On You methodology is when a brand adopts at least the ZDHC standard MRSL, Bluesign, Nordic Swan Ecolabel, Global Organic Textile Standard, Global Recycling Standard or Oeko-Tex Green.” he says. “It is also important to note that brands need to adopt standards across their collections, not just some products.”
So what about viscose and other man-made cellulose fibers? Changing Markets created a unique roadmap for the viscose industry in 2018 to support the transition to responsible manufacturing. “Viscose production has the potential to be cleaner,” Trunk says. “There are better production methods.” If produced correctly, viscose could provide a lower-impact alternative to synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon, which take hundreds of years to biodegrade and also contain harmful chemicals. There is a possibility that For example, polyester is made from antimony trioxide, a suspected carcinogen.
What can shoppers do?
The issue of chemicals in fast fashion is complex and overwhelming. Hearing that something you’re wearing may contain harmful chemicals can be scary, especially when combined with examples of serious health conditions.
The bottom line is that while this issue urgently needs to be addressed by the fashion industry, there are things you can do to reduce your chances of exposure to such chemicals – and that is, get educated.
First, if you’re buying a new product, make sure it has solid certifications. “These are usually the best way to ensure that no or very few harmful chemicals are used,” says Hardiman. “GOTS certification, evaluated throughout the supply chain, is one of the stronger certifications.”
But you can also reduce the amount of clothing you bring into your home and reduce waste by simply changing your habits. “Avoid compulsive shopping,” says Trunk. “Choose quality over quantity. Buy only what you really need and plan on wearing it for a long time.” She adds, “Buy second-hand, buy for maximum durability, and repair items. , reuse and replace,” he added.
There is no silver bullet to solve the fast fashion industry. But we have power.
As Hardiman points out, there are no easy solutions in the fast fashion industry. But we have power. We can choose to change our behavior and limit our involvement in industries that are destroying the planet, making people sick, and even putting our children at risk.
