14 DAY TRIAL // Greenpeace might be busy fighting Russian authorities and trying to get the Arctic 30 home, but this does not mean that the organization has stopped carrying about environmental issues.
On the contrary, the green group has recently released a report saying that gloves and jackets made and marketed by several well-known brands harm natural ecosystems and even constitute a threat to public health.
On its website, the organization details that this most recent investigation into how the fashion industry affects the environment was carried out by Greenpeace Germany.
The environmentalists who took part in it collected and tested a total of 17 items of outdoor clothing made by brands such as The North Face, Jack Wolfskin, Patagonia and Adidas.
It was thus discovered that these clothing items all contained chemical compounds previously documented to harm both the environment and even humans.
“A recent investigation by Greenpeace Germany has revealed that jackets and gloves made by well-known outdoor brands like The North Face, Jack Wolkskin, Patagonia and Adidas contain chemicals that are hazardous to the environment and can pose long-term risks to human health,” Greenpeace writes on its website.
“What’s more, this new testing shows how these same chemicals can enter the environment, not only through our water systems, but also through the air,” it adds.
What the organization means is that, according to their study, these toxins can work their way into natural ecosystems either via the discharge of washing machines, or by evaporating into air, converting into acids and then landing back on the ground.
Of the 17 clothing items that the environmentalists tested, 16 were found to contain noteworthy concentrations of perflurinated and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs).
According to the organization, there is evidence to suggest that this compounds can cause hormonal imbalances and thus affect both a person's reproductive system and their immune system.
Greenpeace further details that a pair of gloves made and marketed by Mammut was found to contain about nine times more PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) than what is considered to be the legal limit.
What's more, jackets made by Adidas, Jack Wolkskin, the North Face and Salewa were also found to be contaminated with high doses of PFCs.
In light of these findings, the organization urges that the brands targeted by the investigation green up their ways as soon as possible.
“These outdoor companies rely upon images of beautiful mountains, majestic forests, crisp white snow and clean, flowing rivers to advertise their products, a stark contrast to their involvement in this toxic scandal.”
“Isn’t it time that they took steps to ensure their beautiful adverts are in line with reality by Detoxing on behalf of our planet, the people that buy their products and those suffering, first hand, the effects of toxic water pollution?” the organization says.