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Denim is one of the most popular fabrics worldwide, traditionally made from cotton, non-stretchable, and designed to be heavy-duty owing to its workwear heritage; it’s the fabric we use for jeans and over 2 billion pairs are produced worldwide each year.
The History of Denim
Denim was first used in the 16th century for the Italian Navy and was believed to be first invented in Genoa, northern Italy. Although the Italians were the first to make it, the material itself came from a French city called Nimes. ‘De Nimes’, which means ‘from Nimes’ in English, gave the material its name, and the word ‘jeans’ comes from the word ‘Genes’, which is the French word for the city of Genoa.
Denim’s Dark History
Denim has a rugged and dark history, with its roots in the slave trade, allegations of child slavery and forced labour, (as children have historically been used to cross-pollinate the cotton plants and to harvest the crop), allegations of bonded labour in India and the more recently resolved issues with child and forced labour in Uzbekistan – not to mention the unsustainable aspects of growing cotton, including the use of enormous quantities of water, use of chemicals such as toxic pesticides, formaldehyde and other carcinogens used for fabric finishes, use of synthetic indigo dyes, and the significant pollution that dirties water supplies, kills aquatic life and puts workers and residents at risk.
Related: Cotton – Labour, Land and Body: A Textile Guide
DENIM’S IMPACT
Denim Fabric Finishes
Chemical finishes are often applied to a garment to give it various properties, such as shrink resistance, wrinkle resistance, odour resistance, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-static, softening agents, easy care treatments and colour and texture treatments, adding a further mixture of potential harmful chemicals to the cocktail. Most of the chemicals used for these finishes have proven to have negative effects on human health and may be harmful to people with sensitive skin. According to an article in Fibre2Fashion, they may cause nausea, breathing difficulties and even seizures.
THE USE OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
Many of the hazardous chemicals once used by the textile and clothing industry have now been banned, in particular chemicals found as residues in clothes that have been proven to cause cancer, such as benzidine, linked to “exceptionally elevated risks” of bladder cancer, but Greenpeace is still campaigning about other hazardous chemicals used commonly in the textile industry such as lead, nickel, chromium IV, aryl amines and phthalates, which still continue to be widely used, according to an article in the Ecologist, an environmental news and analysis website with a focus on ecological, social and economic justice.
Wrinkle-Resistant Finishes
Anti-wrinkle finishes, which are used on a broad range of clothing, including denim, use a resin that releases formaldehyde, the chemical that is usually associated with embalming fluids. Wrinkle-resistant finishes are used to keep the fabric’s fibres in place after a spin in the washing machine and also often serve as a preservative and to prevent mildew while clothes and other items transit from the factory to the store.
FORMALDEHYDE
Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a pungent, suffocating odour. It is an irritant on inhalation, direct contact with skin or eyes and on ingestion. Formaldehyde can cause a skin condition called contact dermatitis, an allergic reaction that causes itching, redness and blisters, but more importantly, it is also classified as a carcinogenic hazard.
In the United States, formaldehyde levels in clothing are not regulated and manufacturers are not obligated to disclose the use of this chemical on clothing labels. Despite this, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified formaldehyde as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. In contrast, EU countries classify formaldehyde as a category 3 (C3) carcinogenic hazard under the Dangerous Substances Directive, which is the weakest class. (Formaldehyde Working Group, 1999).
Sandblasting
Sandblasting is another fabric finish and was traditionally used to create a faded or worn-out or bleached look on denim. The technique uses an abrasive material, usually sand, which is blasted against the fabric under high pressure. The process often used natural sand which contains silica and can cause silicosis, as the crystalline silica dust particles can be easily inhaled, penetrating the pulmonary alveoli and the connective tissue, which gradually impairs lung capacity and the ability to oxygenate the blood. Symptoms include shortness of breath, and as the disease develops, it becomes increasingly difficult to breathe; this puts strain on the heart and eventually leads to death.
Sandblasting was first banned in the UK in 1949, but the process continued to be used in other countries. A report undertaken by the NGO Fair Trade Center investigated the increase of deaths due to silicosis in Turkey which ultimately led to a ban by the Turkish government in March 2009. Since the ban, the sandblasting industry has moved to other countries, such as China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of Northern Africa.
Today, Potassium Permanganate is used on 90% of denim products to create the bleached look and has replaced most sandblasting techniques; the chemical is applied to jeans and jackets with spray guns in confined workshop spaces, and often it is used without appropriate protective equipment, according to a 2019 article by the Clean Clothes Campaign and is therefore still seen as a chemical of concern:
“THE CHEMICAL IS CLASSIFIED AS “DANGEROUS” BY THE EUROPEAN CHEMICAL AGENCY AND IS SAID TO AFFECT THE LUNGS IF INHALED REPEATEDLY, RESULTING IN SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO BRONCHITIS AND PNEUMONIA. ANIMAL TESTING HAS ALSO SHOWN THAT REPEATED EXPOSURE TO THE SUBSTANCE CAUSES POSSIBLE TOXICITY TO HUMAN REPRODUCTION OR DEVELOPMENT.
WORKERS WERE SHOWN TO BE PROVIDED WITH INEFFECTUAL DUST MASKS RATHER THAN GAS MASKS IN THEIR WORKPLACES, BUT EVEN THEN, EQUIPMENT WAS BARELY USED.”
CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN
Bleaching
Bleaching makes fabric white and usually involves the use of chlorine and is used extensively on denim. The primary environmental concern with chlorine-treated textiles is the industrial wastewater from chlorination facilities. Some chemicals like dioxins and furans are created unintentionally by industrial processes using chlorine. Dioxins and furans are known as PBTs; they are a group of chemically-related compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants, are bioaccumulate in people and wildlife, and are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer.
Scientists estimate that there are many other unintentionally created by-products which are generated by industrial processes which have not yet been “discovered”, since no tests have yet been developed that would fully identify or describe these by-products.
Textile Dyes
Dyeing gives a textile its colour; dyes consist of soluble coloured compounds suspended in a medium. To dye a fibre is to affix the molecules of the dyes as solidly to the surface as possible through a chemical reaction (chemical absorption), which varies depending on the pairing of dye and fibre.
Denim goes through a particularly energy and water-intensive dyeing process to give the fabric its signature indigo colour; it takes between 50 to 100 litres of water to dye just one pair of jeans. Originally a plant-based indigo dye was used, but today this has largely been replaced with a synthetic version. Indigo dyeing is based on an oxidation-reduction reaction that’s crucial to the process.
Unfortunately, the denim industry uses more than 50,000 tons of synthetic indigo and large amounts of sodium hydrosulfite and caustic soda each year. Due to the inability to fix dyes completely, unfixed dyes end up in water streams, causing ecological disruptions, and turbidity, and releasing harmful substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and poisonous.
Textile polluTION
Xintang, for example, a small town in southern China, has experienced the brunt of the manufacturing process more than any other place. Known as the denim capital of the world, Xintang produces one-third of all jeans sold globally. Unfortunately, limited regulatory oversight has resulted in manufacturers dumping chemical-laden wastewater directly into local waterways, turning the rivers a deep blue and emitting a foul smell. The pollution has caused unsafe levels of toxic metals like copper, lead, and mercury to be found in the water, which residents use for drinking and bathing. Reports of rashes, lesions, and infertility have surfaced among the workers and residents.
The hazardous situation in Xintang became public knowledge several years ago, and the Chinese central government ordered the local administration to address the issue. The response involved the closure of 76 facilities, including 68 dyeing, printing, and laundry mills from 2016 to 2018. According to Sina Finance, these shutdowns have caused over $1 billion in local economic loss. However, there is hope on the horizon as some companies are adopting new production techniques that significantly reduce water usage, while others are pursuing sustainability by relying on renewable energy sources and recycling water.
Wastewater contaminated with toxic chemicals from industrial plants must be disposed of, but it often ends up in nearby rivers and oceans. Although the U.S. has implemented regulations requiring plants to partially purify the wastewater, it still corrodes sewage pipes and pollutes local waterways. Unfortunately, chemical-contaminated water is still a major issue, especially in developing nations where production is outsourced to industrial factories.
THE DENIM INDUSTRY TODAY
Exploitation has been woven into the history of cotton production, but what of current practices?
Today, denim is still known and loved for its strength, versatility, durability and comfort. Denim jeans have crossed all cultural barriers and are an iconic wardrobe staple; they have transformed into everyday wear, offered in multiple cuts, washes, colours, fits, styles and coveted designer labels.
When Levi Strauss invented the blue jean in 1873, it was a feat of design, but today, jeans are just another example of disposable fast fashion, and “cheap clothing still costs” according to the article Denimosity, by Fashion Revolution:
“IT COSTS ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY. IT IS INEFFICIENT AS IT IS POLLUTING. IT IS ROOTED IN THE EXPLOITATION OF BOTH HUMAN AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND AS A CONSUMER AWARENESS GROWS WE BEGIN TO SEE AN INCREASED SENSE OF OUTRAGE WHEN WE SPOT BLATANT CASES DRIVING THIS CHEAPNESS EVEN FURTHER”.
FASHION REVOLUTION
Fashion Revolution
Fashion Revolution was founded by Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013. Ten years ago, on April 24th, 1,138 garment workers who had been sewing for fast fashion brands died due to a lack of safety precautions, when the Rana Plaza, a building housing five garment factories in Bangladesh, collapsed.
Fashion Revolution has grown to become the world’s largest fashion activism movement, mobilising citizens, brands and policymakers through research, education and advocacy and is a global movement of people who make the fashion industry work. They are designers, academics, writers, business leaders, policymakers, brands, retailers, marketers, producers, makers, workers and fashion lovers.
The Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord
As a response to the Rana Plaza disaster, the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord, a binding contract for textile brands to ensure workplace safety, was put into effect by global unions. This expired in May 2018, resulting in the launch of the International Accord in May 2021, which was expanded to include Pakistan due to the country’s influential role in the textile industry. Today Pakistan’s garment sector employs 4.4 million workers, accounting for 40% of the country’s industrial workforce, making the textile and garment industry the primary engine for economic growth in the country.
Over 40 brands and retailers have signed this binding agreement, as of April 2023, ensuring safe working conditions, promoting worker empowerment and protection, and supporting collective bargaining agreements, however, two of the world’s biggest denim brands producing in Pakistan have yet to sign the Pakistan Accord: Levi Strauss & Co and Wrangler.
Levi’s refusal to sign the Accord is significant because of the company’s reputation for being socially responsible and its status as one of the biggest buyers in Bangladesh and Pakistan. According to Re/Make, an international network of citizens, press, legislators and union leaders that aim to connect the fashion industry’s biggest problems with viable solutions:
“LEVI’S TRIES TO MITIGATE ALLEGATIONS BY REFERRING TO ITS OWN SAFETY PROGRAMS. HOWEVER, IT IS WORTH BEARING IN MIND THAT THESE PROGRAMS ARE NEITHER LEGALLY BINDING NOR WORKER-DRIVEN. LEVI’S SUSTAINABILITY REPORT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HEALTH AND SAFTEY VIOLATIONS ARE COMMON IN THEIR FACTORIES”.
Thanks to the pressure from the Ekō community, over 190 global fashion companies have signed a safety accord to prevent unsafe working conditions. However, Levi’s has refused to sign, stating that their own audits and checks are better. It is questionable whether Levi’s is truly ensuring the safety of its factory workers. By declining to sign the Accord, Levi’s would avoid allowing independent safety inspectors into their supplier factories, as well as guaranteeing basic health and safety provisions for workers.
It is essential for international denim brands like Levi’s to prioritise environmental and ethical concerns to remain relevant in the industry. Large corporations must set higher industry-wide standards for social and environmental sustainability. Failure to do so could lead to consumers seeking out alternative brands that prioritize these values.