Fashion labels 'ignoring Chinese suppliers' dirty practices'
Environmentalists accuse Western fashion brands of using cheap suppliers whom they know are polluting the countryside
More than 20 of the world's biggest fashion brands have been blasted by mainland environmentalists for ignoring the pollution practices of their alleged Chinese textile suppliers.
Environmentalists have called some of the brands, including Marks & Spencer, Disney, J.C. Penney, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, the worst examples of social responsibility by multinational companies in China.
In a report released in Beijing yesterday, five major non-governmental organisations in China said their appeals to those international fashion brands to check up on and discipline their polluting suppliers in the Chinese textile industry had been repeatedly ignored.
The environmental NGOs, including Friends of Nature, the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, the Green Beagle Institute, EnviroFriends and the Nanjing-based Green Stone, released a similar report in April with a list of 33 "irresponsible" brands. While about a third of them took action to address the issues, the rest did not respond.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, urged consumers to pressure these companies to change.
"They can ignore victims, environmentalists and even the Chinese government, but they cannot afford to lose customers," he said.