Detox Campaign Asks 17 Fashion Labels To Clean Up Their Act

detox 1©Yohena Raya / Greenpeace

Greenpeace is pioneering a new way of delivering its environmental messages by posting a ‘Detox Fairy Tale’ from its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The new storytelling approach is part of the organisation’s global ‘Detox’ campaign, which today revealed the presence of hazardous chemicals in clothing items purchased from 12 international fashion brands.

“Major fashion brands including Burberry, adidas and Disney are using a cocktail of hazardous chemicals to make clothing for kids,” said Tommy Crawford, strategic communications manager for Greenpeace’s Detox campaign.

“Many of these chemicals can have adverse impacts either on our immune, reproductive and hormonal systems, but brands have the chance to give this toxic nightmare a happy ending by eliminating these little monsters from their supply chains and products.”

detox 2©Greenpeace

The social media fairy tale is part of a wider creative package, including a webpage, a photo-shoot that combines live-action with illustration, and offline activities that will roll out over the coming weeks. The central idea was to take the widely unknown hazardous chemicals used by the textile sector, such as Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs) and Phthalates, and turn them into ‘Little Monsters’.

“The sad truth is that we are surrounded by hazardous chemicals - in our clothes, our homes and the air we breathe. The ‘Little Monsters’ concept allows us to make the invisible threat visible, and demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of these toxic beasties in our day-to-day lives.” said Crawford.

“But where there are villains, there are bound to be heroes. In the case of the Detox campaign this has been the millions of activists, fashion-lovers and concerned parents who have worked together to push 17 major fashion labels to clean up their toxic habits. The campaign proves that when enough people combine their passion and creativity, major brands do listen and respond.

“In order to raise awareness for this issue among those with the power to bring about positive change we're showing the world the toxic truth that lies behind the glamour of the fashion industry. We want to inspire people to collectively challenge the industry to end its toxic addiction, and this involves exploring new ways of engaging people as well as drawing creative inspiration from fashion – an industry renowned for innovation and self expression,” concluded Crawford.