Business

Cambodia’s Toxic Kilns Fuelled By Fashion Brands

An Unearthed investigation has revealed how off-cuts from Cambodian factories supplying major brands are being used to fuel brick kilns – exposing workers to toxic fumes. The investigation found tags, labels, footwear, fabric and garment scraps from Nike, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Reebok, Next, Diesel, and Clarks at five different kilns alongside evidence that kilns were using garment waste in their fires. To manufacture bricks workers move dried slabs of clay by hand into the kilns, where they burn for a couple of days in temperatures reaching up to 650°C. To maintain such heat, the kilns need to stay fired, and workers burn fuel – in some instances a mix of garment waste and wood – around the clock. Often associated with plumes of black, choking smoke, the incineration of garment waste, which commonly contains toxic chemicals, endangers the health of vulnerable kiln workers. Reported health impacts include coughs, colds, flus, nose bleeds and lung inflammation. It is also exacerbating the carbon footprint of clothes destined for Europe and the US, despite commitments to cut emissions from clothing manufacturers. “The burning of acrylic garments, especially when combined with plastic bags, hangers, rubber and other waste as occurs in Cambodia, releases plastic microfibres and other toxic chemicals into the immediate environment which compromise the health of workers and neighbours on a short and long term basis. The human impacts, in particular, are substantially worse than burning wood and have been highlighted in a recent UK parliamentary report as a major problem in the industry,” says Dr Laurie Parsons of UK’s Royal Holloway University. Parsons co-authored a seminal 2018 report exposing the practice of garment incineration in Cambodian kilns. Major brands said that burning garment waste in this way would be against their protocols, that the claims would be investigated and that they expected their partners and suppliers to comply with strict codes of practice. A Clarks spokesperson stated: “We are conducting a thorough investigation and believe we have identified the potential source. We believe this incident to be an exceptional occurrence. Our ongoing investigation has led us to believe that in accordance with our code of practice for suppliers, waste from the relevant Cambodian factories was provided to a government-approved waste services company.” A Michael Kors spokesperson added: “We strive to produce our products in an environmentally responsible manner, and to partner with suppliers to reduce emissions, waste and other environmental impacts of our products” and “will reiterate to our suppliers our expectations around proper collection and disposal of garment waste.” When communicating with Next – Unearthed asked how and why their products ended up in a local brick kiln. A Next spokesperson answered: “Under clause 8.5 of the Next Standard Terms and Conditions of Purchase, suppliers cannot dispose of rejected, seconds, excess, samples or cancelled stock unless stock is sold through the Next clearance routes” and that “it appears this breach could possibly have taken place due to their suppliers in Cambodia not adhering to the policy.” OTB Group, the parent organisation for Diesel, explained: “OTB constantly monitors the supply chain” and “the brand is no longer producing garments in Cambodia at the moment.” They added, “no evidence has emerged on the subject from the recent internal review we carried out with our former and only supplier active in the country in 2020/2021.” The situation could worsen as wood and fuel prices are skyrocketing. Wood prices are at least 10 times higher than garment waste. Kiln workers are reporting impacts on their health – fevers, colds, nosebleeds. While kiln fires are predominantly fueled by wood, a 2020 survey conducted by a local union and Royal Holloway found that 23 out of 465 kilns burnt garment waste. “And they were in most cases burning several tons a day. So we’re looking at hundreds of tons of garments being burned every day,” Parsons told Unearthed. At the time, over 10,000 individuals were declared to have resided at kilns scattered across the country, of which almost 7,000 confirmed they were employed by the brick industry. Workers usually migrate with their families and live on site. Between December 2021 and January 2022, Unearthed discovered that some kilns shut down while others started incinerating garment waste, as it is substantially cheaper than wood. The economic slowdown decimated brick orders and lowered prices, forcing some establishments to burn garment and textile waste to survive, according to the kiln owners and workers. The exact number of kilns currently strictly incinerating garment waste or a mix of garment waste and wood remains unknown. The practice continues despite Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment instructing kiln owners to stop burning garment wase. According to a sub-decree on waste management, industries burning solid waste – which includes garment and fabric scraps – can be fined US$ 250. Another sub-decree warrants inspection by the Ministry of Environment where pollution endangers human health or the environment. Pollution that endangers “human bodies or lives” appears to be a violation of Cambodia’s environmental law, which stipulates over US$ 12,000 in fines and five years imprisonment for the most egregious offenders. Garment waste supply chain Officially, apparel and footwear factories supplying some of the world’s beloved brands predominantly dispose of their garment and textile waste at a landfill or elsewhere through licensed waste disposal companies. However, a thriving unregulated garment waste industry means that some of it ends up at the kilns. A 2021 report by German development organisation GIZ shows it gets to kilns through a web of middlemen purchasing garment waste directly from factories and selling it to truck drivers who deliver to kilns. A truck of garment waste purchased directly from a factory manager costs just US$ 60, one middleman supplying kilns told Unearthed. Other means of sourcing garment waste reportedly include intercepting trucks with waste on their way to the landfill. Unearthed also spoke to two truck drivers supplying kilns who said they picked up garment waste directly from factories. With such a complex supply chain, it is difficult to pin the garments’ source or journey step by step. Based on the Open Apparel registry, Unearthed was able to connect a Ralph Lauren supplier to a kiln, burning garment waste, where a factory order sheet and labels from Polo Ralph Lauren were found near bags with garment waste. Separately, the Ministry of Environment confirmed to Unearthed that since 2017 one garment factory was fined for “improper solid waste disposal” but it is unclear what that disposal entailed. The global fashion brands and their sustainability targets Some of the brands whose labels, fabric, clothing and footwear scraps Unearthed found at the kilns incinerating garment waste have committed to ambitious social and environmental sustainability targets in their operations. They have anti-modern slavery statements and pledges pertaining to eliminating waste and carbon emissions in their supply chain. Nike made a splash in 2019 when it dropped its “Move to Zero” campaign around the same time the youth-led Global Climate strike rocked the streets of New York. “Our priority is zero waste, period,” Nike says on its website. This includes diverting 100% of waste from landfill in Nike’s supply chain and zero carbon emissions — meaning they’ll be at or below 2020 levels — from key suppliers by 2025. “Examples include not allowing open disposal to land or water, improper disposal of waste by products such as incinerator ash or leachate or uncontrolled burning or emissions,” Nike’s code leadership standards say. Nike, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Reebok, Next, Clarks and Diesel also have supplier codes of conduct, which at the very minimum require factories in Cambodia to respect local environmental laws and dispose of waste in line with applicable regulations. Nike requires their suppliers “verify that they exercise responsible environmental management practices.” In reality, experts say, brands are free to make sweeping commitments because there is no legal framework or oversight body that could hold them accountable for what’s happening in their supply chain. Greenwashing again! But for a few, most fashion brands producing clothes and footwear in Cambodia don’t have any physical presence in the country, rendering meaningful oversight difficult, Parsons says. “Brands can essentially say to some extent what they want, and the only thing which is going to discern whether or not that’s not correct is independent reporting.” How Unearthed found the evidence Between December 2021 and January 2022, Unearthed found garment waste from some of the world’s leading brands at five kilns, scattered across kiln clusters in the southeastern Kandal province. “We began our journey north of Phnom Penh, where we first visited a small-sized kiln and identified garment waste for Reebok – a black strip of material with the Reebok logo across it. We found it near the kiln ovens, among the brick debris lying on the ground. We then travelled to a medium-sized kiln where we found Polo Ralph Lauren labels scattered near kiln ovens and a bag containing garment waste. Continuing our journey northwards of the capital, we came across another kiln, where we found piles of bags stuffed with garment waste. Here, we identified a number of labels from Next and a Diesel label scattered on the ground near the bags. “ “During our second round of kiln visits in Kandal province on 12 January 2022, we identified further garment waste at three brick kilns. At the first kiln – the same one where we identified Reebok waste earlier – we found what appears to be garment waste from bags – with the Michael Kors logo on them – as well as stickers containing QR codes with the words Michael Kors printed on them. The waste was situated between lines of drying bricks and ovens on the kiln premises.” “We continued on to the next kiln cluster, where we found a number of dishevelled Nike garments at a sprawling kiln in bags stuffed with garment and fabric waste. We then travelled to another kiln in the same area and found shoe remnants from Clarks, among piles of garment waste and bags containing garment waste. At both kilns, we witnessed workers fueling the kilns with the garment waste.” During both field trips, Unearthed witnessed workers using bags of garment waste to fuel the kiln ovens. All the brands identified in the investigation responsed to Unearthed queries. A common thread in their responses was that they all had garment waste management policies and stipulations in place, which were part of the contract and codes of conduct signed with suppliers. And almost all stipulate at least following the laws of the land. While the brands are conducting their own investigations, it is necessary for the local government to do its bit too to stop such practices.