UNDER FIRE: Li-Ning, a major Chinese brand of sportswear and footwear, was accused together with other world leading brands of letting textile suppliers releasing toxic chemicals into waterways by Greenpeace in July 2011 (CFP)

According to Li, there is no safety limit for these chemicals because they accumulate. "Many were found in fish during an earlier study of toxins in the food chain in the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway. Although the chemicals are not yet illegal in China, they are banned in the EU and many developed nations," Li said. "So we ask them to phase out over a reasonable time frame. That would send a signal to the whole industry."

On July 23, 2011, more than 600 people in 29 cities in 10 countries across the world participated in a choreographed striptease activity. They took off Adidas and Nike sportswear and sported "Detox" temporary tattoos to call on the brands to eliminate the release of hazardous chemicals from their products as well as supply chains.

Three days after this activity, Puma made a public statement, saying it recognizes the urgent need for reducing and eliminating industrial releases of all hazardous chemicals and is committed to "eliminating the discharges of all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures that are associated with the making and using of Puma products by 2020."

On August 17, Nike followed suit and on August 31, Adidas announced its commitment in the campaign. H&M, Li-Ning, C&A joined later. Last November, the six companies announced the joint roadmap to ZDHC.

"We share the general concern about discharges of hazardous chemicals into the environment," said a spokesperson for H&M. "That is why we run a set of activities and procedures to limit and eliminate hazardous chemicals and improve overall environmental standards throughout our value chain and the entire industry."

The path forward

The ZDHC initiative is ambitious—it sets a new standard of environmental performance for the global apparel and footwear industry. Greenpeace has promised to issue progress reports every quarter in 2012 and annually from 2013 to 2020.

In April, the group of ZDHC brands held a conference in Brussels, Belgium and invited other potential brands that were interested in joining, as well as leading chemical companies, international labs and service providers that are essential to achieving the goal. At the conference, participants conducted a system mapping exercise, which further supported the analysis of the joint roadmap and clarified paths forward.

A technical committee will soon assemble with relevant stakeholders in the chemical industry to map technical solutions and develop research plans. In the meantime, the group of ZDHC brands expects more companies to join in the campaign to eliminate hazardous chemical discharges.

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