However, as Greer says, we can also all agree that the curtain is rising on the environmental problems being generated by textile manufacturing in China and elsewhere in the developing world. “International groups like Greenpeace are routinely showcasing problems to worldwide attention [Hidden Consequences.pdf], and NGOs such as the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), are quickly developing an increasing head-turning capacity in an information-starved China, by outing problem factories across that nation in a highly accessible way [IPE’s Cleaning up the Fashion Industry and IPE’s The Other Side of Apple Report.pdf].
“Given the ready access the public has to the internet and social media around the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to multinationals to maintain a credible reaction of surprise and dismay to public exposes of the environmental damaged caused by factories in their supply chains around the world.”
Bitter pill to swallow
From this perspective, the Greenpeace campaign can be seen as “bitter but much needed medicine to the apparel sector,” according to Greer. “And it is an important warning to the other industries manufacturing the pharmaceuticals, paper, furniture, plastics, and other consumer goods we use every day. If you guys can manage a supply chain to deliver high quality products, on time and at low cost, from hundreds of factories to thousands of retail outlets around the world, it should also be possible to ensure that those same factories are minimising the damage they pose to the air and water in their surrounding communities.”
She concludes: “public expectations of industry are high and rapidly rising around the world; the fashion industry, so highly respected for its creativity, vision, and power of persuasion with consumers, is well suited to take the lead in responding to the public in this brave new world.”
We’ll have comment and response to the NRDC analysis in the next printed issue of Ecotextile News magazine. To make sure you receive a regular copy of The Environmental Magazine for the Global Textile Industry, subscribe HERE. Why not join in the conversation?
