“Today Esprit has shown Levi’s and other big brands what a credible and ambitious commitment to stop making toxic fashion looks like,” said Ada Kong, Toxics Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.

“Right now, rivers in China, Mexico and elsewhere are being polluted with hazardous chemicals, and we need brands like Levi’s – who have been caught contributing toward the problem – to take urgent action in order to stop these environmental crimes. Nice words are not enough.”

The commitment from Hong Kong-based Esprit comes just four days after Greenpeace launched its report “Toxic Threads: Putting Pollution on Parade” in Beijing on 4 December. The report exposed how facilities in China’s biggest textile base, some of which produce textile for major high street brand including Levi’s and Calvin Klein, are exploiting complex wastewater systems to prevent scrutiny of their manufacturing processes.

“Esprit is beginning to take responsibility for its entire supply chain. Their commitment to require 30 of their suppliers in China to disclose discharge data by the end of 2013 is a major breakthrough for communities who are forced to share their waterways with industry. If Esprit can commit to disclose pollution data for so many of its suppliers, then why can’t Levi’s – as a self-proclaimed leader – beat this number?” said Ada Kong.

Esprit becomes the tenth brand to make a credible commitment to eliminate releases of all hazardous chemicals throughout its supply chains and products since Greenpeace launched its Detox campaign in 2011.

Greenpeace International