“From the way we make our products to how we run the company, we’re committed to restoring the environment. Consumers expect this from us, employees demand it, and the planet requires it.”

This is a very honourable statement from Chip Bergh, President and CEO of Levi Strauss and Co, the producer of the very famous Levi’s jeans.

No doubt good intentions were behind the statement, but the reality is that popular fashion brands like Levi’s are directly linked to the use and discharge of hazardous chemicals into Mexican rivers.

San Pedro River Pollution © Guadalupe Szymanski / Greenpeace

 
In Greenpeace International’s latest report, “Toxic Threads: Under Wraps”, we show the results of water samples that were taken at discharge pipes used by two manufacturing facilities supplying Lev... Read more >

It’s been a turbulent five months for the future of whales in South Korea after the Seoul government made a shock statement in July at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Panama, announcing that it was planning a ‘scientific’ whaling programme.

There was an uproar – ‘scientific’ whaling is just an excuse to kill whales for meat. Two weeks later, the day before my wedding, I was still doing media interviews about the plan and one of the guests brought a picket sign reading ‘No Whaling!’ to my wedding.

In September, the Greenpeace ship Esperanza went out to the East Sea with scientists from Australia and the US on board to demonstrate the non-... Read more >

When is a trade deal not a trade deal, but a grab by multinational corporations to undermine our environmental protection law?  When it’s the TPPA.

In early December, the next round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations will be taking place in Auckland.  But what exactly is the TPPA?  When in Asia recently, John Key was talking up his discussions with President Obama about making ‘progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’. Sounds very important and must have something to do with free trade, and you would be forgiven for thinking so.

The Government is selling us this deal as ‘a mega trade deal’, which is wrong. Much of what this actually means for New Zealand is being withheld; discussed in secret and will be withheld from the public for many years aft... Read more >

This Tuesday is turning out to be big day of our tuna campaign.

This morning John West joined the global movement to phase out destructive tuna fishing methods and this evening a one hour documentary on our campaign to halt the decline in Pacific tuna stocks will premiere on prime time TV. And while this is all happening the countries which control tuna fishing in the Pacific are meeting in Manila to discuss measures to rescue the world’s largest tuna fisheries.

Let’s start with the John West news. It is the largest brand of canned tuna in Australia and following a six week campaign over there it has just pledged it will stop using destructive tuna fishing methods that needlessly kill sharks, rays, baby tuna and turtles. This is good news for tuna, good news for other marine life and good ne... Read more >

Today we learned that the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has handed back its licence to drill for oil in the deep waters off the East Cape. And this news has been welcomed by those communities whose beaches and livelihoods were at risk from an oil spill and the pollution that comes from oil drilling. The cultural and environmental heritage of this beautiful, pristine part of Aotearoa is now safe.

However, this news should also be a wake-up call for Steven Joyce and his Cabinet colleagues who have pinned our economic hopes on the whims of overseas oil companies. Every effort has been made by this National Government to court some of the world’s most polluting industries, allowing them to damage the once proud reputation New Zealanders had by lobbying for the weakening environmental safegua... Read more >

Zara, the world’s largest clothing retailer, today announced a commitment to go toxic-free following nine days of intense public pressure. This win belongs to the fashion-lovers, activists, bloggers and denizens of social media. This is people power in action.

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Volunteers dressed as 'revolting mannequins' at Zara stores around the world on Saturday.

Greenpeace campaigners began a dialogue with Zara (a brand within the Inditex group) in 2011 about eliminating releases of hazardous chemicals from its supply chain and clothes. But it wasn't until this week that the fast-fashion giant caught on to the urgent need to solve its toxic pollution problem.

Zara has now committed to eliminate all discharge of hazardous chemicals from its supply chain and products by... Read more >

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In an extraordinary statement yesterday, Prime Minister John Key, who is also Minister for Tourism, compared our 100% Pure brand reputation to the McDonalds 'I'm Lovin It!' marketing campaign. You know, those adverts that sell you cheap fast food and high blood pressure. He glibly stated that our reputation was simply a marketing campaign and “it's got to be taken with a pinch of salt."

He was of course talking about the brand upon which our exporters rely on as a vehicle to overseas markets, a brand that was considered amongst the most powerful on the planet and worth US$13.6 Billion to the New Zealand economy (1). All of that demolished with one smug, off-the-cuff comment to an astonished press gallery.

With this statement, it seems John Key is deliberately lower... Read more >

Were you thinking about Zara fashions for this season? Maybe these images will make you think twice. There's a good reason even the 'mannequins' are walking out of Zara's stores in protest. Zara has a toxic little secret... and it's in the clothes. Certain clothing items have been tested in an independent labratory and been found to contain hazardous chemicals, some of which can even break down to become hormone-disrupting and cancer-causing substances when released into the environment. It's nasty stuff.

This past Saturday was a busy shopping day, and in over 80 cities around the world shoppers were treated to 'mannequin' walkouts at Zara stores. In Istanbul, Zara mannequins struck a pose in the street outside the shop, instead of in their normal place in the store front - a... Read more >