BEIJING — Two Chinese factory towns responsible for making millions of the world’s bras and jeans are alleged to be widely polluted with industrial toxins and waste, a report issued by Greenpeace in Beijing said Tuesday.
The environmental group found widespread contamination of heavy metals in the soil and water of Xintang and Gurao, two industrial towns it studied in southern China’s Guangdong province.
Xintang’s factories make an estimated 60 percent of China’s jeans, while 80 percent of manufacturing in Gurao is related to underwear production. Last year, Gurao produced 200 million bras, according to the report.
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Greenpeace noted the two cities are not unusual in structure, since China’s manufacturing hubs tend to be organized in clusters, with entire towns centered around churning out millions of like products. Clustered manufacturing towns account for 40 percent of textile manufacturing in China, the report noted.
“This means that the pollution of Gurao and Xintang might just be the tip of the iceberg,” Greenpeace said.
The environmental group tested several water and soil sites in both cities for five heavy metals: mercury, cadmium, chromium, lead and copper. It found heavy metals in 17 of the 21 samples it tested, indicating extensive heavy metal contamination throughout both cities. Exposure to heavy metals is known to cause a long list of health problems.
“Greenpeace believes that pollution problems in textile industry clusters, of which Gurao and Xintang are representative examples, can only be improved and ultimately solved by the joint effort of local industry, governments and consumers,” the report said.
The group called on the textile industry to “take responsibility and act promptly,” specifically by reducing the use of hazardous chemicals in the manufacturing process. It also urged governments to step up regulatory and enforcement efforts.