In response to the latest update from the Roadmap to Zero discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Group, Ilze Smit, Detox Campaigner for Greenpeace International said:
"The latest update from the 'ZDHC' Group delivers yet more promises and pilots, rather than concrete actions to create toxic-free fashion."
"Since the launch of the Detox campaign in 2011, millions of people around the world have raised their voices to demand a future free from the threats of hazardous chemicals. As the global water crisis worsens -- against a backdrop of unrelenting hazardous and hormone-disrupting substances released into our public waterways by the fashion industry - the ambition and actions shown by this group seem out of touch with both the reality on the ground, and the demands of the brand's stakeholders, fans and customers.
"The good news is that some members of the ZDHC Group are taking this issue more seriously, and have taken ambitious and measurable action that far exceeds the ambitions of the Group. H&M, for example, has banned all uses of all PFCs from its global supply chain (effective from 01 January 2013), while the ZDHC Group has so far only offered more promises to eliminate a limited portion of PFCs from their supply chains and products by 2015.
"Many non ZDHC members, such as Mango, and some members, such as Inditex, have also made progress by sharing ways to substitute hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives, and by becoming more transparent about the chemicals that are used and released in their global supply chains.
"In contrast, the ZDHC Group has limited its ambition to more pilots and promises, preferring to deliver a tiny amount of disclosure from anonymous facilities, and refusing to disclose on a supplier-by-supplier and chemical-by-chemical basis.
"What the world needs is concerted action that matches the urgency and severity of this issue. While multi-stakeholder action can play an additional, and crucial role, this must not be at the expense of individual corporate responsibility nor credible action.
"The key question moving forward is whether certain ZDHC Group members will continue to delay and frustrate the progress of other more ambitious brands, or go 'all in' to create of a toxic-free future."
