B: Bangladesh

With approximately 28 euros per month per month it has the lowest minimum wage in the world for factory workers. Between 2006 and 2012 more than 800 clothing factory workers have been killed as a result of fire and building violations. An estimated 4500 textile factories in the country are unsafe. And although officially banned, the deadly sandblasting technique is still in use in sweatshops. These are some of the sad facts about the 15 billion euro textile industry in Bangladesh.

These unfair labour practices, although taking place in a distant country, are not unrelated to our wardrobes. Bangladesh is among the top three producers of European clothing. H&M is the largest buyer of clothing in Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza factory disaster, which killed over 1000 garment workers in April 2013, demonstrated unequivocally that Bangladeshi factories produce for high street retailers such as Zara and Benetton.

So what can be done to make things better? In Spring 2013, the Dutch government announced its intention to coordinate international donations and efforts to improve factory safety in Bangladesh for the next two years, which would result in a widely shared action plan. In the meantime, a growing number of international fashion retailers, including H&M, C&A, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, have signed the binding Fire and Building Safety Agreement which was initiated by the Clean Clothes Campaign amongst others.

Worryingly, companies such as Disney have announced to stop producing in Bangladesh, and move business to countries such as Myanmar and Thailand. Obviously this wouldn’t help garment workers in Bangladesh, nor contribute to fair labour practices in its rival developing countries. Another challenge concerns our clothing shopping habits. A Dutch survey held a mere week after the Rana Plaza factory collapse revealed that just 24% of consumers intend to check clothing labels in shops in order to see where an item was made. No more than 1% of Dutch consumers think they are responsible for the Rana Plaza tragedy. The majority of respondents says it’s primarily up to the Bangladesh government and factory owners to take action.

The good news is that the Dhaka factory collapse has put the labour rights situation in Bangladesh's garment industry firmly on the agenda of governments, brands, retailers as well as consumers. This awareness could put the spotlights on fashion labels that are producing ethically in Bangladesh, such as Tulsi Crafts and People Tree. And surely once Western consumers become familiar with the appeal of these types of brands, they will be more likely to embrace sustainable collections in favour of the cheap, fast fashion that is at the root of the problems in the Bangladesh garment industry?

T: Toxics

High levels of toxic phthalates, several cancer-causing amines and plenty of NPEs. That’s what Greenpeace found in a 2012 investigation of 141 clothing items produced by 20 well-known fashion brands. Hazardous substances were found in just under two-thirds of all garments tested. These include items sold in Europe by Zara, H&M, Mango, C&A, Armani, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton, Diesel and Levi’s.

The hazardous chemicals found by Greenpeace – not only in this recent report but also in a previous investigation – pose a clear threat to the environment. Because so many garments are made each year – a staggering 80 billion world-wide – the apparently small quantities of a hazardous chemical such as NPEs, which in the European Union are legally allowed in clothing, cumulatively amount to the widespread dispersal of damaging chemicals across the planet. In rivers and lakes, these chemicals can accumulate in sediments and build up in the food chain, in fish and other wildlife. This happens not only in textile producing countries, but also – as a result of consumers washing these clothes – close to our homes.

For the past few years, Greenpeace has urged a number of well-known brands to commit to Zero Discharge of hazardous chemicals by 1 January 2020. Amongst others Puma, Nike, Adidas, H&M and C&A have already made this commitment.

In 2012, Greenpeace has also launched worldwide consumer campaigns, asking fashionistas, customers and activists to put pressure on amongst others Zara to put an end to the use of hazardous chemicals. Within 48 hours after its start, over 200.000 consumers had signed the petition urging Zara – which, because of the sheer size and scale of its production, could be a true catalyst for wider change within the clothing industry – to commit to the Zero Discharge joint roadmap.

And there’s more that we can do. Greenpeace recommends buying fewer new clothes, asking brands to act responsibly with respect to planet and people, and demanding governments to restrict the sales and import of products containing hazardous chemicals. Does that sound like a whole lot of work to do? Just start with coveting your current wardrobe and buying secondhand clothes, and take it from there. And rest assured that Greenpeace will keep the issue of toxics high on the agenda in the fashion industry.