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Children's clothing and shoes manufactured by 12 globally known brands have been found to contain potentially toxic chemicals, Greenpeace announced Tuesday.
Based on their new investigation, the environmental campaign group said that at least one item from each of the brands tested was found to contain chemicals that can have adverse effects on one's reproductive, hormonal, or immune system. Some of the harmful substances however were at low concentrations of 1 milligram per kilo which is considered as the "limit of detection". It was however not clearly stated how many of the samples tested were over the limit.
According to the group, 61 percent of the products they analyzed contained nonylphenol ethoxylates or NPEs which become "hormone disrupters" when they break down. Some products had high levels of PFOA, a chemical that causes harm to the reproductive system.
It is not the first time that Greenpeace had disclosed similar findings. In 2012 the group organized a "toxic" fashion show in Beijing to call people's attention to their findings that two-thirds of high-street clothing they tested contained toxic chemicals.
Greenpeace analyzed 82 products manufactured in 12 countries and 29 of these products were made in China making China the biggest producer of the garments under study. This according to Chih An Lee, Greenpeace East Asia campaigner, is alarming for parents everywhere who are looking for clothes to buy for their children that don't contain harmful chemicals.
These toxic chemicals which Lee called "little monsters" are found in budget as well as luxury fashion items and brands and are polluting waterways from Beijing to Berlin, Lee added.
The products that were analyzed were manufactured by well-known companies like Adidas, American Apparel, Burberry, C & A, Disney, Gap, H & M, Li-Ning, Nike, Primark, Puma and Uniqlo according to the group.
