red rivers of indonesia

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Images like this makes me so sad and angry. They are Indonesian rivers from an article at Ecouterre. The river is blue or red, depending on what day you look at it. This is what happens when textile production goes to countries that do not have proper legislation for environmental issues. Shit gets into the rivers and it´s all perfectly legal. Not just Gap, but every label that has production in the less developed countries. Textile production (dyes and fabric chemical treatments) requires water cleaning facilities within the factory or the community sewage system. If they do not exist, the dirty water is just released into the nearby rivers polluting the communities drinking water and killing water life. This results in undefined health problems for the entire nearby community that rely on their natural fresh water sources.Workers and the community are of course meant to believe that the textile factory will bring them money and good business which of course is actually the opposite. The community will end up paying a lot for these factories and the real beneficiary is only the factory owner and the brand.

By now I hope you are as angry as I am. Good, let´s do something with it. Boycotting a brand is a silent protest and does nothing to change things in the long run. What you should do, is write to the company, ask questions on their international Facebook page, make some noise, share this post (mine or Ecouterre´s) and demand that they do better. Make your claim public so the brand has to act.  Textile brands and factories will just do the bare minimum that the local environmental law requires unless you ask them to do more. Demand a certificate that guarantees that local water supplies are not contaminated in the process. Or buy clothes that are have both the fabric and sewing done in countries with a more strict nature conservation law. Consumer has power when it comes in large numbers and with public shame for the brand.

 

“Fresh water is a valuable commodity. Without clean fresh water there is no life.”

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Itkettää kun katson näitä Ecouterren kuvia. Ja pahinta on, että kaikki vaatevalmistajat, joilla on tuotantoa halpamaissa eikä tehtailla ole vedenpuhdistamoa, osallistuvat tähän. Kaikki. Viisainta ei ole boikotoida brändiä, sillä se on vain hiljainen protesti, mutta pidä asiasta meteliä. Kirjoita brändin Facebook-sivulle julkisia kysymyksiä, lähetä asiakaspalautetta jne. Jaa tämä postaus ja pyydä ystäviäsi tekemään samoin. Brändien on pakko reagoida kun heidän asiakkaansa alkavat esittää kovaan äänen kritiikkiä.

Via Ecouterre.

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One response to “red rivers of indonesia”

  1. […] vedenkulutuksen ongelman tekstiilituotannossa. Tekstiiliteollisuus on suuri syy siihen miksi köyhien alueitten joet saastuvat ja järvet kuivuvat. Tämä johtaa siihen, että kansa näkee nälkää, maanviljely ei enää […]

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