California Apparel News

Australian clothing retailer The Just Group has joined the international fight against sandblasting denim. The procedure, which is used to give jeans a worn look, has been found to have toxic side effects on workers, so many apparel giants have stepped forward, stating they will no longer use this method.

Armani, Esprit, H&M and Levi Strauss & Co. are just a few of the major players that have decided to ban the practice in recent years.

The Just Group, which owns seven labels—including Just Jeans, Jay Jays and Portmans—operates more than 1,000 retail outlets across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Singapore and employs more than 6,500 people, according to its website.

According to the company’s ethical-responsibility statement, The Just Group is committed to a global ban on the purchase of sandblasted jeans and will independently inspect all manufacturers for compliance. The brand plans to sell through all of its remaining stock and will not place any further orders for sandblasted jeans.

“Just Group has taken an important first step today,” said James Ensor, director of policy for the Australian branch of international aid agency Oxfam, in an earlier statement. “Oxfam is encouraging all Australian retailers selling denim products to follow Just Group’s example and implement a ban on sandblasting.”

Sandblasting involves removing the pigmentation from denim by using high-pressure and abrasive sand, but the silica dust produced by the process can cause the lung condition silicosis, which can lead to severe respiratory problems or death, especially when workers do not have access to adequate protective wear.

Approximately 5 billion pairs of jeans are produced worldwide every year, according to a report by the Swedish Fair Trade Centre. Countries such as Turkey have developed large industries manufacturing and exporting denim, but after several deaths from silicosis, Turkey imposed a ban in 2009 on the use of silica when sandblasting denim. Since then, many factories have moved production to countries that are less regulated—such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and China—according to the Clean Clothes Campaign, an activist alliance.

Oxfam and the Clean Clothes Campaign have been leading a global appeal to end sandblasting in denim production and are encouraging companies to publicly state that they will not use the method and will ensure that all workers who have worked at facilities sandblasting products receive medical care if needed, as well as financial compensation and retraining for other positions.

Michael Kobori, vice president of social and environmental sustainability for Levi Strauss & Co., said Levi’s announced a company-wide ban on sandblasting in September 2010 and stopped placing orders for sandblasted products last December. The company now uses alternative methods, such as hand scraping, and has established some of the strictest standards and monitoring programs in the industry to help ensure that their workers are not subjected to the risks related to silica, he said. They hope to encourage other companies to do the same.

“We decided that the best way we can help ensure no worker in any garment factory faces the threat associated with exposure to crystalline silica is to move to end sandblasting industry-wide,” Kobori said. “We hope that it becomes an important step toward eliminating sandblasting as an industry practice.”—D.C.