Factory Profit Margins To 10% Profits, Clothing Brands Are Accused Of The Greatest Responsibility.

August 23rd, Hongkong, international environmental protection

At this time, 14 samples of sports brand printed with "detox-ing" (detoxification) characters in Philippines, through the green peace personnel, are constantly reminding people passing by: NIKE, Adidas, CONVERSE, CK, PVH and so on.

In August 29th, in Zhongshan, Guangzhou, the dust and the machine roared. Workers in the factory, Zhongshan Guotai dyeing and finishing company looked at the staff's dormitory in a guardrail, but did not know that the directors were busy at the moment.

"This is a global issue". This event involves the most famous sports brands in the world, involving the most important garment brand market in the world, and more importantly, the virus is hidden in clothing. Hundreds of millions of people in the world are passively interacting with manufacturing enterprises to pollute the environment.

Poison in clothing brand collectively fall

According to Xinhua and other media reports, Greenpeace released an investigation report on toxic and harmful substances in clothing brand clothing worldwide in August 23rd.

The report shows that in 4-5 months of this year, Greenpeace purchased 78 samples of 15 clothing brands in 18 countries such as China, the United Kingdom and Argentina, of which 52 samples were found to contain toxic and harmful substances.

It includes Adidas, NIKE, H&M, CK, Puma, Lining and other world-renowned sportswear enterprises.

"In fact, we are concerned about water pollution and environmental problems. We have released a report on the global water pollution survey of clothing brands. We found that the waste water discharged from the suppliers contained harmful substances. In order to further confirm, we detected the residual problems of these garments."

In August 30th, Greenpeace organization

This is the substance of the 15 famous sports brands in the world, which is known as NPE.

According to Greenpeace: NPE is called a nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether. It is a common surfactant. Medical experiments have proved that these hormones may cause precocious puberty, and to a certain extent, inhibit the development of male signs.

When NPE is released into the environment, it will rapidly decompose into NP, which stimulates the simulation of estrogen and has an impact on the sexual development of organisms. In addition, NP can also exist in organisms in the food chain, even if the concentration is very low, it will also cause harm to the human body.

Some experts say that the extinction of Chinese sturgeon is likely to be related to a large number of NP in water.

NPE is widely used in printing and dyeing and cleaning processes in the textile industry. It has good properties such as penetration, emulsification, dispersion, acid and alkali resistance, antioxidant and other five flower properties. After adding NPE ingredients, the finished products are finished.

NPE can not be eliminated?

When green peace "poison hidden in clothes" investigation report and press conference, Adidas toxic, NIKE toxic......

Many of the world's first-line sportswear brands involved, causing a great uproar in the market.

"I haven't heard about it. I'm not sure. If you suspect that you have quality problems, you can check it."

When a customer service is consulted on the Li Ning Co customer service department, which is alleged to have "NPE in 100% products", its contact person answers this question.

When asked whether the quality inspection would incur the cost, Lining was responsible for it or not. Lining's customer service department hung up the phone on the grounds of "I don't know the cost."

This response is quite the opposite of what happened after the Li Ning Co incident.

In August 24th, faced with the issue of NPE pollution caused by Greenpeace personnel, Lining did not face the matter in his report. But one day before the release of green peace report, Lining issued a statement: Li Ning Co will eliminate the environmental impact of the whole production process of all products (including suppliers and raw materials suppliers at all levels) in 8-10 years.

"No brand names have questioned the results of our report. NIKE and Puma have already made a pledge to eliminate pollutants in 2020. Lining made a statement the day before the report. The latest statement is Adidas, but we believe that there is no improvement in the statement made by Lining and Adidas. We will continue to communicate."

Zhang Kai said.

On the night of the green peace report, Adidas issued a statement that the NPE concentration of Adidas is far below the target value. Adidas has been strictly demanding the best standard in the industry with NPE concentration of 100ppm.

So far, Puma and NIKE have pledged to remove all toxic chemicals from their production chain by 2020.

As for the Li Ning Co's willingness to "achieve environmentally friendly emissions in the supply chain", Greenpeace said: "we hope that these companies can completely abandon the use of these toxic substances at the source rather than reduce them."

"We believe that on the issue of NPE, the main responsibility is brand enterprises, because brand enterprises do not have relevant policies to restrict environmental pollution."

Zhang Kai said.

Xiong Xiaokun also shared the same view. He told the times weekly reporter: "the individual thinks that the responsibility of the brand enterprise is bigger. For these well-known enterprises, the quality of the materials purchased should be restricted by strict standards, and they should be tested at the time of purchase, so as to eliminate the unqualified materials."

In addition, many brands in the 15 international brands released by Greenpeace have not yet made a clear response to the matter.

When calling H&M, the customer service department official said: "at present, we have not received any official notification that our clothes are defective. Our clothes are tested by chemical and absolutely no harmful substances to human body.

Similarly, Adidas China customer service office, a female responsible person who refused to be named, said: "there is no data indicating that the NPE content in our clothes will affect the health of consumers."

Earlier, when the media asked Adidas about "Green Peace's purpose is to eliminate and eliminate NPE", Adidas said: "NPE can not be completely eliminated in the production process."

But is this really the case?

Who allowed NPE?

"Some countries in the European Union banned the use of NPE 20 years ago. The whole European Union promulgated the regulations in 2003, and entered into full force in 2005 to prohibit the use of NPE."

Zhang Kai introduced.

It is precisely because of the harm of NPE and NP to the human body and environment that the EU promulgated the regulations on the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals in 2005 to prohibit the use of NPE and NP in the textile production industry. The Chinese government also joined NPE and NP in the catalogue of toxic chemicals imported and exported in China at the beginning of this year, and for the first time classified NP and NPE as a list of prohibited imports and exports.

This catalogue is issued by the Ministry of environmental protection and the General Administration of customs.

However, there are no documents restricting the implementation of NPE in the domestic market.

In Greenpeace's report, the Adidas sample contains a NPE ratio of 40%, and the Lining sample contains a NPE ratio of up to 100%.

In the face of the NPE ban issued at home and abroad, the market can not help but ask, "where does NPE come from?"

"The EU set up these laws for NPE zero emissions, and local factories can no longer use them.

In Greenpeace's survey report, "at present, no brand establishment mechanism requires their suppliers to disclose the toxic and harmful substances they use and discharge."

After the release of Greenpeace's report on China's water pollution survey of the global clothing brand, CK said: "we recognize that the supply chain process of the company has a certain impact on the environment, although we can not directly control the product and service providers, but we are working hard..."

But there are different points of view.

"I think this problem is not always the responsibility of the brand, it will involve many problems. The brand and the supplier are a business relationship. Do all the responsibilities have to be undertaken by the multinational corporations?

Suppliers should also be changed. Many objective reasons are that Brand Company can not push suppliers forward. For second third tier suppliers, brands can not do much.

He Zhiquan, director of corporate social responsibility (CSRAsia) in China, told the times weekly reporter.

In the NPE pollution report, 78 samples were produced in developing countries, of which 28 were produced in China, and all of Lining's products came from China.

"NPE is widely used in textile production in China. It is mainly used in dyeing and finishing process, which is brought by the preparation."

First textile network editor Wang Qianjin introduced.

NPE is widely used in printing and dyeing and cleaning processes in our country.

These links are the main steps of OEM in China's textile factory.

In response, Chen Xin, deputy general manager of Zhongshan Guotai dyeing and finishing company, Lining, H&M and many other international sports brands, said: "NPE has many kinds of surfactants, often used for washing, but our industry does not directly need such substances, but the preparations can contain them."

Chen Xin produced a variety of preparations to buy the list of enterprises clearly stated: "we did not use NPE, the factory will buy cotton yarn back after dyeing, finishing, clothing process, we have banned the use of toxic substances in 2003 dye."

For why Lining and many other suppliers of products found NPE substances, Chen Xin said: "NPE does not mean that it is from Zhongshan Cathay Pacific, each brand enterprise in the domestic foundry is very large.

And it is likely that it is in the preparation, and there is no need for NPE in the production process. "

Many NPE sales outlets were found on the Alibaba website.

One of them is sold to a chemical industry Co., Ltd., Guangzhou and Guangxi, Chen Xing manager said: "NPE is widely used in the textile industry. Many foundry factories in the Pearl River Delta are buying from us. The NPE in the same products can achieve the best effect. If other products are used instead, the matching agent will increase, and the cost of the enterprise will also rise."

According to Chen's manager, "NPE, our selling price is generally 16 thousand and 800 yuan per ton, which is the most cost-effective chemical preparation in the textile industry."

However, it is not clear that NPE is toxic.

In this regard, Wang Qian also said: "the use of NPE, for enterprises will definitely reduce costs."

At present, there are already non-toxic additives for NPE in China, but the cost is higher than NPE in terms of 5%-10%.

On the opposite side of Zhongshan Guotai dyeing and finishing company, that is, the relatively large Gaoping sewage treatment plant in Zhongshan, Guangzhou, its laboratory test was introduced by Mr. Kohut. "I have not heard of the two pollutants such as NPE and NP. We are all based on the state.

It is reported that in China, the two harmful substances of NPE and NP only restrict import and export, but there is no explicit provision for the domestic market.

Why prohibition of import and export, but failed to prohibit the use of NPE in the domestic market, Wang Qian told the times weekly reporter: "this is from two aspects, one is the cost of enterprises, if the current model, the original factory is a small profit, the use of NPE alternatives will lose money; from a national perspective, the improvement of the law takes a certain time."

In response, He Zhiquan said: "the profit of the textile industry is lower than that of the foundries. They spend more money on the cost of labor or the environment. It is not big enough for them to take the initiative to change the ingredients of the preparation at this low profit level.

Although national brands have done some work in supervising suppliers, conversely, in terms of purchasing prices, should the profit ratio of the textile business sector be reconsidered? "

"Decoupling" supply chain

"We are very difficult now, and the situation is even worse now than in 2008.

2008 is a big environment, but our quality is relatively high, customer trust is relatively good, we can persist.

And now the external situation is very general. After the NPE incident, we have a great negative impact. Even good cooperative relationship, because we have to bear the pressure, are very careful to us, and the new customers are not resolute to us. "

Chen Xin, deputy general manager of Cathay Pacific, said.

After showing numerous evidence that Cathay Pacific dyeing and finishing company did not involve NPE, Chen Xin said: "our profit is actually very low. After this incident, our order volume has dropped by half, and the loss is estimated to be over 10 million at present, and the latter is not known yet."

Between words, gloom is everywhere.

This year, whether macro policy environment or industrial chain raw material supply situation has aggravated the survival difficulty of domestic foundry enterprises, many SMEs have to cut production and stop production due to shortage of capital chain, and some enterprises are closed down. The domestic foundry enterprise chain is facing adjustment in the industry.

"Under the pressure of raw material fluctuation, inflation and RMB appreciation in the first half of the year, the textile foundry enterprises are the most serious. The export-oriented enterprises are facing cost pressures on the one hand, and on the other hand are facing the pressure of external pressure reduction brought by the fluctuation of RMB exchange rate.

The profit distribution of the whole industry chain is not average. In China, OEM enterprises can get 10% of the profits.

"The chain of the textile industry is like this. After we buy cotton, it is processed into cotton yarn, and then dyed, collated, processed, checked and packaged according to customer requirements.

But the profit of our entire foundry industry is very low, which is around 10%. It is maintained by quantity. If the order is not available, it will lose a lot. "

Chen Xin said.

"Raw material suppliers are not necessarily the lowest profits. Suppliers have a relatively large customer base. They can supply raw materials to OEM enterprises or to domestic suppliers, but the chain of OEM enterprises is relatively single, and the most stressed ones are them, because they have no brand and channels, and survival must rely on orders and customers, which are very vulnerable."

Wang Qianjin introduced.

Brand Company can be said to be the most profitable link in the apparel industry chain, and OEM enterprises can only earn a small amount of processing fees, and the profits from OEM enterprises will be less, which will also lead to Jerry building in their production process to a certain extent.

"We are not aiming at supply chain enterprises. This is the reason why we believe that the responsibility of the brand enterprise is greater. The supplier does not come from the brand constraint. If the brand has this policy, the supplier will fulfill it, and the problem of NPE pollution will be fundamentally solved."

Zhang Kai said.

"We have also had contact with some large sports brands. They are also changing and pondering these problems, but it still takes some time to change from the whole supply side. I think that whether they are multinational brands or local manufacturers, they should consider their procurement policies, which will change more."

He Zhiquan said.

It is reported that more and more sports brands are now paying attention to the environment of their own manufacturing enterprises because of the NPE report.

As a complete and non separable industrial chain, whether it is the brand enterprise, the agent enterprise, the research organization and the consumer, it is still the most important of its own. It still is the economic development mode of reducing pollution emission.