Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-08-12
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| Li-Ning is the only Chinese brand listed by Greenpeace that has vowed to remove nonylphenols from its products. (Photo/CFP) |
Major
international apparel brands such as Armani, Nike, Adidas and Li Ning have been
named by Greenpeace for using Chinese suppliers that use a hormone-changing
chemical in their manufacturing processes, reports the Chinese-language
Economic Observer.
Prior to
making the results of its 2011 report public, Greenpeace had already sent
letters to 15 well-known apparel brands in China, informing them that tests
showed that two of their suppliers in China had been releasing waste materials
that contained nonylphenol, a chemical that can affect hormones and harm
reproductive systems. Though there is no concrete scientific proof, some
experts believe clothing produced with the use of nonylphenol could damage
health through contact with the skin.
Of the 15
companies, seven had agreed to "detoxify" their products, though Li
Ning was the only Chinese company to take the pledge.
Nonylphenol
has already been banned in products for sale by the European Union as it is
regarded as a hazard to human and environmental safety, though businesses have
continued to produce the chemical for export to countries where the legal
restrictions are not as strict, such as China.
Apart from
imports, China produces 47,000 tonnes of nonylphenol a year, though more than
50,000 textile factories in China still require more of the chemical for
laundry, printing and dyeing processes, according to the Economic Observer. A
Guangdong foreign-invested corporation recently applied for 10,000 tonnes of
nonylphenol, of which 9,600 tonnes was approved by the Ministry of
Environmental Protection for use in the Chinese market.
Last year,
a second Greenpeace report revealed that 63% of select products tested
contained nonylphenol, including items from apparel giants Zara and H&M.
Even some luxury brands are also guilty of utilizing the chemical. Of all
products tested from Italian brand Armani, 56% were found to contain
nonylphenol.
So far,
China does not have a hazardous chemicals list and has not issued an official
request for industries to remove nonylphenol from their manufacturing
processes.
"Central
authorities and local governments are very focused on environmental issues, but
this is a supervision problem, a technical problem and a money problem,"
an anonymous industry insider said.
China's
Ministry of Environmental Protection did not establish a chemical management
office until 2009 and did not pass its first hazardous chemical management
regulations until Oct 2012. In the beginning of this year, China finally
introduced its first hazardous chemicals environmental protection plan.
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