Zara Stores, Toxics, and Greenpeace

Talk about a fast response.  Look at this combination and sequence of emails from Greenpeace in their campaign to eliminate toxic chemicals from clothing production. 11/26/12 2:04 AM
Mark Jesus- The world’s waterways are being polluted by the toxic chemicals used to produce clothing fashion companies like ZARA. Help us protect global water resources by making an urgent contribution to our campaign today. In less than a week, you’ve sent nearly 50,000 letters to the CEO of Zara, owned by the world’s largest fashion retailer, urging ZARA to clean up its fashion line and stop polluting the world’s waters. Thank you. But this is only the beginning. Right now, fashion brands are writing a story for us on what the industry should look like — and it’s not a pretty one. It features public waterways that are being treated like private sewers. It features poisoned rivers and hazardous chemicals that can cause serious damage to ecosystems and livelihoods. Help us change this story so it has a happy ending. Please make a gift to help detox fashion and protect global water sources today. Those of us who have begun our holiday shopping this season may be buying clothes for loved ones or friends. But toxic pollution shouldn’t come with the bargains. We’ve been calling attention to the issue for over a year, but have seen little action. So now we’re shouting louder. This past weekend, Greenpeace offices all over the world held a global day of action at ZARA stores to alert the company and its customers that fast fashion isn’t worth toxic water. But we’re not stopping there. We identified more than 20 companies whose manufacturing process pollutes the world’s waters, and we’re keeping the pressure on until the companies commit to detox their fashion by 2020. Contribute now to support our detox campaign, clean the world’s water sources and protect our planet. With your help, we’ve already secured commitments from Puma, Adidas, H&M and most recently British retailer Marks and Spencer to eliminate toxics from the companies’ fashion lines last year. That’s huge. These companies know they should be industry leaders creating innovative toxic-free fashion, and encouraging others to follow their lead. By exposing these brands in the media and working with their customers, we can help Zara and other retailers become part of the solution. 11/29/12 8:50 AM Mark Jesus- You did it! Zara has just announced a commitment to Detox! On behalf of the detox campaign teams around the world, I'd like to thank you sincerely for taking action. It worked. After hearing from nearly 70,000 of you, the fashion giant made the right decision to commit to a zero discharge policy. This means the company is adopting measures that will lead to no discharge of hazardous chemicals through its production process by 2020. And Zara is going to get rid of some of the most toxic chemicals even sooner. The company has pledged to eliminate a highly hazardous and persistent chemical compound by 2015. Zara is one of the biggest fashion retailers in the world. And where the industry giant goes, the others are likely to follow. The commitment is good news for the environment, but also a breakthrough for the public's right to know what is being released into our waterways. This past week, we've shown the fashion industry what we're capable of achieving together. Thank you for taking action and making a difference in protecting water sources around the world. Together, we can make amazing things possible. We couldn’t have done this without you. John Deans Greenpeace Detox Campaigner PS: YOU made Zara detox. WATCH to find out what we’ve got in store for our Detox campaign.