Greenpeace news and archive

New investigations find missteps in fashion’s sustainability claims

A number of new investigations by two environmental organisations have found areas in which the fashion industry is lacking when it comes to the onslaught of sustainability commitments made by brands and retailers in the sector. US-based Stand.earth and the Spanish subsidiary of Greenpeace each presented reports on notable issues they had...

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Business

Thumbs up or down? How brands and retailers fared in Greenpeace’s greenwashing study

Many of us - as consumers or textile and clothing industry insiders - wonder how to make sense of confusing garment labels that claim that said garment is “sustainable”, “eco”, “green” or some other term that suggests that buying this garment or textile is in any way less harmful for the environment. ‘If only someone would compare all those and...

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Business

Greenpeace greenwashing study: brands’ sustainable promises are ‘fake standards’

Hardly any term has been so enthusiastically embraced in recent years as “sustainability” - suddenly everything is “green”, “sustainable”, “eco” or “organic”. Unfortunately, however, it often remains a promising term that holds little water in practice. “Conscious” collections turn out to be minimally recycled and clothing return initiatives are...

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Business

UK may levy green tax on imports from polluted factories

The UK may impose a green tax on imports manufactured in polluting factories. The government is set to announce new green policy measures on Thursday, echoing similar proposals to the EU’s green energy laws and the US inflation act, which gives green businesses tax advantages. Rishi Sunak and energy minister Grant Shapps will announce the new...

Fashion

Greenpeace study: Dangerous chemicals in Shein clothing violate EU regulations

Tough times for Chinese ultra fast fashion giant Shein - first it was plagued by accusations of plagiarism and then a British documentary found that workers in some Shein factories in China are paid the equivalent of only three cents per garment and have to work 18-hour shifts. Now it's about the clothes themselves - Greenpeace Germany tested...

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Business|Background

Gore-Tex: The new membrane and what Greenpeace has to do with it

When the first products with the new, more sustainable ePE membrane from Gore-Tex hit the market in autumn, the world leader for waterproof functional fabrics and with it the entire outdoor industry would have made a real U-turn. Or wouldn’t it? PTFE is Gore-Tex’s main module To understand that the development of this new, more sustainable ePE...

Fashion

Stella McCartney teams up with Greenpeace to stop deforestation

Stella McCartney is launching a capsule collection supporting Greenpeace’s campaign to stop deforestation in the Amazon, which is fuelled by industrial agriculture and meat production. The Stella x Greenpeace capsule embodies a shared commitment to protecting the planet and wildlife and jointly celebrates the two organisations’ respective 20th...

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Fashion |REPORT

Greenpeace is detoxifying the clothing industry

In 2011 Greenpeace launched a campaign to reduce hazardous chemicals from clothing manufacturing into the world's waterways. The aim was to achieve zero discharge by the year 2020. 80 international brands and suppliers took up the challenge, amongst them luxury brands, high street fashion conglomerates, sportswear and outdoor outfitters and a...

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Business

Greenpeace expedition finds microplastics in remote Antarctic waters

Water and snow samples collected in a recent Greenpeace expedition to the Antarctic have revealed the presence of microplastics and persistent chemicals. Their findings confirm that plastic can be found even in the most remote areas of the planet. The extensive use of polyester in the fashion industry is partially to blame for the problem:...

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Business|INTERVIEW

Greenpeace on why fashion is at a crossroads

Greenpeace has never been on the best of terms with the fashion industry. The global NGO is known to criticize the fashion industry for its lack of commitment to making its sector more sustainable. However, this is not the case this time. In the new study "Fashion at the crossroads" presented at Milan Fashion Week, Greenpeace criticizes fashion...

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Fashion

Greenpeace announces the most eco-friendly fashion brands

Greenpeace has praised Inditex, Benetton and H&M for “leading the industry towards a toxic-free future” in its third Detox Catwalk campaign to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020. The three apparel firms topped the online ranking of 19 fashion and sportswear companies, with Greenpeace stating that they were the only “avant-garde” companies...

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Fashion

Toxic chemicals found in outdoor gear from The North Face, Patagonia and Jack Wolfskin

Greenpeace said Monday that hazardous chemicals were "widely present" in a range of outdoor gear it tested, from clothing and footwear to backpacks, tents and sleeping bags. The environmental activist group said out of 40 products tested, only four were free of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). The study showed that toxic chemicals are...