Wearing gas masks and designer
\ndresses, models paraded down a catwalk against a backdrop of polluted,
\nrubbish-strewn paddy fields in central Indonesia, a colourful condemnation
\nof
\nthe fashion industry’s role in causing environmental devastation.
\nThe women marched up and down in black rubber boots on a runway of wooden
\nplanks to dance music, brandishing banners that read “Say no to fashion
\nwith a
\ntoxic trail”.<\/p>\n
The show, put on by environmental group Greenpeace and local designers,
\nwas
\naimed at highlighting the destruction caused by textile factories, including
\nmany producing clothes for global brands, that have for years been spewing
\nindustrial waste into the country’s waterways.
\n“Greenpeace urges the industry to stop polluting the environment with
\nhazardous chemicals,” said the group’s campaigner Ahmad Ashov Birry, who was
\norganising the show.
\n“We urge the government to take stern action against the polluters and
\nstrengthen regulations related to the management of hazardous chemicals for
\na
\ntoxic-free future.”<\/p>\n
Last week’s show took place at Rancaekek, part of the Citarum River
\nBasin
\non Java island, which is the heart of the Indonesian textile industry.
\nThe area was named as one of the 10 most polluted places on Earth in 2013
\nby environmental groups the Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross
\nSwitzerland.
\nThe groups found a wide range of toxins — including aluminium and
\nmanganese — in the river, which supplies much of the water to the capital
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
In Rancaekek alone, more than 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of paddy
\nfields
\nhave been polluted, according to Greenpeace.
\nThe show was part of a Greenpeace campaign called “Detox”, which has been
\nrunning since 2011 and is aimed at getting well-known brands to ensure that
\ntheir suppliers do not release hazardous chemicals into the environment.
\nBig names such as Spain’s Zara and Germany’s Adidas have committed to the
\ncampaign.<\/p>\n
Rivers and crops have been poisoned by pollution across the vast
\nIndonesian
\narchipelago by a wide range of industries, from manufacturing to mining.
\nMore than 100 million Indonesians, out of a population of 250 million,
\nhave
\nno access to safe water, according to Greenpeace. (AFP)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n