Testing validity
Meanwhile, The North Face also says it is not trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes and said it was questioning the validity of the testing. Sean Cady, Product Stewardship and Sustainability at VF Corp., which owns The North Face, told Ecotextile News, “The results reported do not agree with the testing that we, or our chemical supplier, have carried out on the same product. Moreover, the test results are not reflective of the chemistry used in the manufacture of this jacket.”
Cady went on to say that The North Face was already in discussions with the UBA about the validity of the test results before they were publicly released via Greenpeace: “The UBA asked for our permission to release the findings, but since we disputed the data we were not comfortable with this until the UBA revealed more about its testing. Their [UBA] results were not even close to our own findings or that of our testing house.”
Similarly, skiwear brand Schoeffel says it disputed the UBA findings. “There was no explicit information on the analytical method results from the UBA,” said Ilka von Goerne from the company. “We did not agree to release the results because we wanted to wait until the final publication of the study later this year.”
Like Vaude, Schoeffel has subsequently released the test results on its web-site HERE.
Ecotextile News has also requested comment from HKM, but as yet we are still waiting for a response.
The UBA intends to publish a full report on the testing of 14 outdoor jackets between August 2011 and March 2012 on the presence of fluorine chemistry on textiles from thirteen brands including supermarket chains (Tchibo, Aldi Süd), fashion retailers (H&M, C&A), outdoor labels (Bergans, Campagnolo, Jack Wolfskin, Mountain Equipment, Schoeffel, The North Face , Vaude, Patagonia) and work clothing (HKM).
The now delayed final report is expected to become available in June 2013.
More views and comments from the brands involved, bluesign technologies and testing houses will be published in the next issue of Ecotextile News magazine. CLICK HERE to receive your regular copy.
