A report entitled “The trend & dirt flow: Global fashion brands selling poisonous and harmful materials under investigation” was globally released on Nov. 20, 2012.

The investigation points out that the clothing produced by over 20 international and domestic renowned fashion brands contains a hazardous chemical that can inhibit male sexual development and cause early female development.

Tests revealed that two-thirds of them, including those manufactured by ZARA and Meters Bonwe, all contained the chemical nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE).

NPE transforms into nonylphenol (NP), which interferes with sexual development by stimulating the production of estrogen.

The creation of a standard for the use of NPE however, is already under development and will probably be completed by 2015.

In fact, the presence of NPE in the clothes is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the pollution in textiles industry. The big brands dump production waste stemming from the manufacturing process into rivers in the countries of production, which in turn threatens the health of many more through the food chain.

Currently, 60% of shell fabric and 40% of ready-to-wear garments in the world are being produced in China. Therefore, as the largest exporter of textiles in the world, China is clearly the biggest victim.

To control textile pollution, the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently published four new discharge standards for pollution which are to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2013.